Dow Jones Factiva

Timothy Caulfield is a Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy at the University of Alberta and host of A User’s Guide to Cheating Death

It happened with stem-cell[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-unproven-stem-cell-treatments-can-be-dangerous-the-hype-needs-to-stop/] research. Ditto genetics[https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2015/07/23/timothy-caulfield-genetics-and-personalized-medicine-wheres-the-revolution/] and precision medicine[https://www.nature.com/articles/gim2017217] . And now we are seeing it play out with microbiome research. Good science is being exploited to market bunk products and ideas.

Gut hype is everywhere.

The pattern is now familiar, as highlighted by what happened with regenerative medicine. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, stem-cell research started receiving a massive amount of media coverage[https://stm.sciencemag.org/content/7/278/278ps4.abstract] . It was presented as a potentially revolutionizing field of study. This hyped language was then exploited by clinics around the world to push unproven[https://stm.sciencemag.org/content/9/397/eaag0426/tab-figures-data] and dangerous stem-cell therapies. And now regulators, including the the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)[https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/fda-warns-about-stem-cell-therapies] in the U.S. and Health Canada[https://healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/hc-sc/2019/69974a-eng.php] , are trying to contain the mess.

Microbiome research is headed down the same path, but at an accelerated pace.

There is no doubt that the human microbiome[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3426293/] – the vast collection of microorganisms that live on and in all of us – plays an important role in our health and well-being. Researchers around the world are now studying the complex relationship between the microbiome and a range of conditions, including obesity[https://www.nature.com/articles/s41522-019-0091-8] , depression[https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/02/evidence-mounts-gut-bacteria-can-influence-mood-prevent-depression] and cardiovascular disease[http://www.onlinejacc.org/content/73/16/2089] . This is a genuinely exciting area of scientific inquiry with great promise[https://gut.bmj.com/content/67/9/1716] . Indeed, I’m involved with an interdisciplinary research team[https://childstudy.ca/2018/01/23/child-study-awarded-genome-canada-grant/] , led by the University of British Columbia’s Stuart Turvey[https://bcchr.ca/sturvey] , exploring the impact of the microbiome on the development of childhood asthma.

But it is still early days for microbiome research. There are, in fact, only a few microbiome-related interventions that are ready for the clinic, such as the use of probiotics[https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/probiotics/] to help prevent diarrhea [https://www.cochrane.org/CD004827/IBD_probiotics-prevention-antibiotic-associated-diarrhea-children] when taking antibiotics and fecal transplants for the treatment of a particular severe intestinal infection[https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/stool-transplants-are-now-standard-of-care-for-recurrent-c-difficile-infections-2019050916576] . Despite this reality, the idea that the microbiome is relevant to our health in ways that are immediately applicable to the massive wellness industry has permeated pop culture incredibly quickly. (A Google Trends analysis[https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=microbiome] of the word “microbiome” in the United States reveals an increase in interest starting around 2013.) The ubiquity of microbiome-related products and promises – often framed in the rhetoric of gut health – has led to growing[https://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/hyping-the-microbiome-may-have-unpleasant-side-effects-1.3839334] concern that the research is being inappropriately hyped.

As with stem cells, the language of microbiome research is now being used to legitimize[http://www.fishcreek.ca/index.php/our-specialities/colon-hydrotherapy] some potentially harmful and thoroughly unproven alternative therapies, including the idea[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/beauty/body/benefits-colonic-irrigation-could-transform-health/] that we need to do regular colonics[https://www.annelisemiller.com/education/blog-articles/23-effects-of-colonics-on-gut-flora] (basically, an enema) to cleanse and detox our bodies.

As is so often the case, proponents of these kinds of alternative gut-health practices want the best of both worlds. They want to situate the therapy as both ageless wisdom (“ many[https://goelemental.ca/colon-hydrotherapy/] ancient civilizations … practised inner cleansing”) and rooted in modern, cutting-edge science (“ colonic[https://www.nardellaclinic.com/naturopathic-therapies/colonic-hydrotherapy-calgary-alberta/] hydrotherapy helps to detoxify the colon and increase peristaltic activity”). And they claim it has both amorphous wellness benefits (“you’re feeling lighter[https://wellnesscolonicclinic.com/colonic-irrigation] , your future’s brighter”) and can treat serious health conditions (“one of the most important[http://www.dtxnyc.com/blog/reducing-high-blood-pressure-natural-remedies/] high-blood-pressure natural remedies”).

But despite the use of ancient anecdotes and science-y, microbiome-infused language, there is absolutely no evidence to support the practice or the too-good-to-be-true claims. Indeed, studies[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6411954/] have found that while colon cleanses can affect the gut microbiome – it is, after all, a pretty dramatic assault on your innards – the change doesn’t last. After a few weeks, our gut reverts back to its precolonic state.

The language of gut health and microbiome research is also used to sell a range of foods and supplements. While research continues, there is still little evidence[https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/09/180906141640.htm] to support the use of probiotics by healthy individuals. As noted in a recent commentary[https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S2468-1253%2818%2930415-1] in the journal The Lancet: “increasing evidence suggests that both commercial and clinical use of probiotics is outpacing the science.” And there may be situations[https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324834.php] where probiotics[https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2702973] might even be harmful[https://www.statnews.com/2019/04/02/probiotics-are-touted-as-good-for-the-gut-they-may-be-trouble-for-the-immune-system/] , adversely affecting the way our body reacts to some drugs. But the lack of evidence[https://www.nhs.uk/news/food-and-diet/no-evidence-probiotics-promote-gut-diversity-in-healthy-adults/] to support the claims of health benefit hasn’t stopped the rapid expansion of the probiotic industry, which is estimated to be worth almost US$74-billion[https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-global-probiotics-market-size-is-expected-to-reach-73-8-billion-by-2024--rising-at-a-market-growth-of-7-7-cagr-during-the-forecast-period-300850278.html] by 2024.

But perhaps the most absurd example of the twisting of microbiome research is the marketing surrounding the “raw water” phenomenon[https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/raw-water-dangerous-natural-food-fad-promises-health-gives-diarrhea-ncna837381] . Over the past few years, a number[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/29/dining/raw-water-unfiltered.html?_r=0] of bottled water companies have started offering water that is straight from the “natural” source, such as a stream or spring. It is untreated and unfiltered. One of the arguments[https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/raw-water-provide-probiotic-health-benefits/] for the practice is the idea that “drinking raw water[https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190620-why-are-people-thirsty-for-raw-water] improves microbiome health” because it contains healthy microbes and minerals removed by public water-treatment facilities. This is, of course, beyond absurd (as are the ridiculous[https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/dangerous-raw-water-prices-skyrocket-to-60-2018-1-1012435658] prices people are willing to pay). The production and distribution of clean water is one of the single greatest[https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/history.html] public-health achievements. “Raw water” kills more than 500,000 people a year.

In this era of misinformation, scientists must take extra care not to hype their work. Indeed, we need the scientific community – particularly those working in these emerging and genuinely exciting fields of study – to speak up when science is being misrepresented. We need credible voices to explain what is and isn’t currently possible.

And we all need to be aware that science-y language is often used to market bunk.

Keep your Opinions sharp and informed. Get the Opinion newsletter. Sign up today [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/newsletters/?utm_source=Arcnewsletter&utm_medium=onsite&utm_campaign=fixed_positions&utm_term=signuppage&utm_content=opinion_promo] .

Follow this link to view this story on globeandmail.com: Microbiome research needs a gut check [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-microbiome-research-needs-a-gut-check/]

The Globe and Mail

Imagine a doctor's office as less fluorescent-lit waiting room and more private club. Filled with plants and warm lighting, soft music plays in the background as the receptionist — rather than ignoring you — actually smiles.

This is the model for Tia Clinic, a Manhattan spa-of-sorts that's taken the next step in the burgeoning “self-care” economy. The wellness lounge model isn't exactly new — not in New York, anyway. The city already has such places as Every Woman Wellness, the Women's Wellness Center, and The Well, a venue that touts itself as a “complete ecosystem for wellness.” For a $500 (U.S.) initiation fee and $375 per month, The Well provides you with a health coach, yoga sessions, meditation and “curated weekly programming.”

The people behind Tia, however, are striving for a more affordable setting while also providing medical care, the kind that usually requires a visit to your physician. Tia's goal — charging less while merging the health, beauty and “wellness” fad with actual health care — might seem to be an impossible challenge.

After a much publicized opening earlier this year, Tia found out just how challenging it was.

Tia was started by two college friends from Cornell University, Carolyn Witte and Felicity Yost, both 29. Each comes from a tech background: Witte previously worked at Google, and Yost was a product manager at Owler, a data insights platform.

“Women have been forced into this health-care system that's clearly not designed for them,” Witte says. She cites her diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome, a hormonal disorder that can cause infertility, as the driving force behind Tia's creation.

She had visited gynecologists, primary care providers, fertility specialists and naturopaths. “I did everything — and I found myself in the depths of the internet, diagnosing myself,” she says. “Finally, when I thought I had PCOS, I insisted on getting an appointment with a fertility specialist on the Upper West Side. I went there and had an ultrasound, and it validated my own hypothesis. I was 25.”

After learning that PCOS is also the leading cause of heart disease and diabetes in women, Witte says she was shocked when her doctor at the time told her: “When you can't get pregnant, or you have diabetes, come back to me.” That was the moment, she says, that she saw how “broken” the health-care system was for women.

Her experience inspired her to create a technology platform using software that, with patient input, can help address mental and physical health issues for women and even suggest foods and vitamins. Eventually, Witte and Yost considered making Tia a clinic and not just an app. But going from app to brick-and-mortar business wasn't easy.

When they opened the doors to their Flatiron neighbourhood location early this year, so many women signed up that wait times for appointments extended to months, with hundreds more on the waiting list. The long wait triggered a backlash.

“We were like a new restaurant that opened, and you thought maybe you'd get five diners a day — and we ended up with 25,” says Dr. Stephanie McClellan, Tia's first physician and a practising gynecologist. “I had this delusion that we were going to be treating primarily 25- to 30-year-old young women who needed birth control pills or an IUD replaced.” Instead, Tia has had patients with diabetes and thyroid disorders who needed much more complex treatment.

McClellan says she pushed the founders to slow down client intake, taking in a maximum of 12 women for medical appointments per day and expanding office hours. Limiting the number of daily appointments now allows for 40-minute visits.

The clinic also hired two new doctors — a second gynecologist and a primary care physician — to work with McClellan and two nurse practitioners. Tia, which currently has 800 members and a waiting list of hundreds, now guarantees appointment availability within two weeks.

In addition to traditional gynecological and primary care, the clinic also offers acupuncture and even a group wellness workshop. You can get a pap smear at Tia, but you can also get a flu shot and a strep test. Witte says she hopes to incorporate mental health professionals at some point.

“Women get very frustrated because they feel like they get fragmented and incompatible care,” McClellan says. “Tia's core differentiation isn't just about putting primary care, gynecology and wellness services under one roof,” she adds. “It's about an integrative care philosophy.”

While it isn't necessarily meant to be a co-working space, Tia members are invited to come by even if they don't have an appointment. The walls are lined with whimsical geometric paintings and murals by New York-based artist Alex Proba, and visitors can log into the free Wi-Fi while spreading out on comfortable couches. The common areas are even equipped with a refrigerator filled with CBD-infused seltzer and canned wine.

“We designed a living room, not a waiting room,” Witte says.

Though the waiting list shows the model has promise, Tia faces stiff competition. The Well is also banking on a subscription model: With room for 2,000 members — 700 more than Tia — The Well includes one-on-one meetings with a “health concierge” and yoga and meditation classes, as well as classes that focus on everything from energy healing to mindfulness. Members can also purchase such add-ons as acupuncture, reiki and reflexology. The vitamin bar, juice and coffee stations will cost you, though.

Tia, meanwhile, hosts events targeted more toward health concerns, such as gut health clinics and eating disorder workshops.

The Tia membership, which includes admission to events at the space, allows members the ability to book an appointment and access its app, which comes with a chat function and features such as menstrual cycle-tracking. Membership costs as much as $15 per month, or $150 per year. The app has changed over time, Witte says.

“In the early days, we used to have a human in a loop, so what that means is: Depending on what question you asked, you'd either get an automated bot answer or, if the bot didn't understand you, a human,” she says. “Today, the entire platform is automated.”

For Tia clinic patients who are members, there's a live chat. “That's one of the value propositions of joining,” Witte says. These care co-ordinators are your quarterbacks and personal assistants for your health care.”

Not all services are covered by insurance at Tia. If you want acupuncture, for instance, you'll have to cough up some cash. Indeed, there are a lot of things the $15 per month membership won't get you, and Tia doesn't currently accept Medicaid, Medicare or Health First. And that, says Monica McLemore, an assistant professor for family health-care nursing at University of California at San Francisco, is a key problem with the model.

“People who have public insurance should not have differential access to services,” McLemore says. “Wellness, to me, is a product sold by capitalism. It assumes personal 'self-care' and other types of interventions that are sold to people — that aren't generally evidence-based — are somehow universally possible and achievable if you can pay for it.”

Women's health care and reproductive care are becoming inaccessible in some places, McLemore says, pointing to efforts by the Trump administration and some states to roll back abortion rights. Slapping a membership fee on the current model, she says, probably won't help.

McClellan disagrees. With women's clinics shutting down around the country, she says places such as Tia have the ability to step in and support practitioners. “Of course, if we're not in the state, we could not perform procedures,” she says. (Tia has only one location.) “But we could certainly be an educational platform in those areas.”

Membership health programs,” McLemore says, “only ensure access to health or wellness if you can afford it. It undermines the public good argument that there are basic services that we think are important to our citizens.”

Today is World Obesity Day, the annual campaign to reverse the global obesity crisis by helping people to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. So... what’s the best way to do that?

It's a simple question to ask, but a controversial one to answer. Last month saw a public row over the efficacy of so-called 'fat shaming', after US late-night TV host Bill Maher called for it to "make a comeback". His remarks, that "shame is the first step in reform", led to a rebuttal from fellow host James Corden, who dedicated a segment of his show to demonstrating the result of fat shaming. "It makes people feel ashamed, and shame leads to depression, anxiety and self-destructive behavior," said Corden. "Self-destructive behaviour like over-eating.”

So fat shaming probably doesn't work – but what about public initiatives such as the sugar tax? Yesterday, chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies made headlines with the recommendation that people should be banned from eating on public transport[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/10/09/ban-everyone-eating-drinking-trains-buses-end-britains-snack/] in the UK to combat our obesity crisis (which costs every taxpayer more than £400 a year[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/10/10/britains-obesity-crisis-costs-every-taxpayer-400-year-cuts-life/] ). Again, the suggestion is contentious: restrictive government measures on food are seen as symptomatic of what Prime Minister Boris Johnson describes as “the continuing creep of nanny statism.”

There could be an easier answer. According to a review of 96 healthy eating studies published this week, one of the best ways to change people’s eating habits and promote healthier eating is with a gentle “nudge” in the right direction.

The study, "Which Healthy Eating Nudges Work Best?”, published in the journal Marketing Science, found that the best way to change people’s behaviour is to focus on making healthier food more visible and convenient to shoppers.

Researchers looked at various methods focusing on improving food choices and eating habits. These included descriptive nutrition labels, using pictures and graphics to help people to see the best choice, improving convenience by having vegetables pre cut, altering portions to include more healthy food, and using “hedonic” language and imagery on packaging.

"These different categories appeal to people in different ways," said Romain Cadario, who conducted the study. "Some appeal to people's voice of reason or judgment, others play on their emotions and some focus directly on changing behavior."

Which all begs the question: what healthy eating nudges could help you and your family to get in the swing of good habits?

“It’s so important to think about how behavioural science can help you to change your habits," says registered dietician Laura Clark[https://www.lecnutrition.co.uk/] . "Essentially, it’s about making the best choice the easy choice.

“Putting pressure on ourselves or expecting perfection generally leads to more negative self talk and worse eating habits as a result. It’s usually far more successful to say “I will try” not “I must” when you’re trying to get into healthier habits.”

With that in mind, we asked nutritionists and dieticians for their top tips and tricks to give us a gentle nudge in the right direction…

365 EOA[https://cf-particle-html.eip.telegraph.co.uk/729ee614-a326-4b21-a6a8-06d75a692ed2.html]

1. Display healthy recipe books

Make sure to have healthy recipe books as well as a book stand on show; it’ll encourage you to experiment with healthy recipes. You could even write out a weekly meal plan, using at least one new recipe during the week, and have this on display for all of the family to see.

Nichola Ludlam-Raine RD ( nicsnutrition.com[https://nicsnutrition.com/about-me/] )

2. Organise your kitchen counter

Keep your blender out on display for smoothies; you’ll be less likely to use it if it’s tucked away in a cupboard. Frozen banana with a tablespoon of peanut butter and milk is quick to make and is an ideal breakfast when you're on the go. Get into the habit of adding a handful of greens before you blend – smoothies aren’t just for fruit, they’re for veg too. Adding leaves such as spinach, iceberg lettuce and kale doesn’t alter the taste but simply adds fibre as well as nutrients such as vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin K.

NLR

3. Makeover your fridge

Make sure to keep the eye-level shelves of your fridge filled with healthy, ready to eat foods such as boiled eggs, plain yoghurt, small cubes of cheese and grapes, pre-cut veggie sticks (in see through containers or clear food bags) and dips such as hummus, salsa or home-made guacamole. Pre-cut fruit salad and slices of chicken or turkey are also good. Make sure that your healthy food – whole foods that are rich in nutrients – are both easy to see and easy to eat.

NLR

4. Stock up on tinned salmon

Tinned salmon is much richer in heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids in comparison to tinned tuna or white fish such as cod or haddock. We should aim to eat two portions of fish a week, one of which is oily and tinned salmon, as well as mackerel, pilchards and sardines, all count as being ‘oily’. Tinned salmon is also cheaper than fresh salmon. If it's in the cupboard, you're more likely to eat it.

NLR

5. Switch to plain yogurt

Add your own toppings and flavourings instead. Natural yoghurt can be a great source of probiotics – aka friendly live bacteria that have beneficial affects on gut health – in addition to being high in protein and providing minerals such as calcium and phosphorus. Buying plain yoghurt means that you’re not paying for added refined sugar and you can control exactly what goes in it. Try cinnamon and banana, strawberries and flaked almonds or baked apple pieces and raisins.

NLR

6. Start the day right

Eat a wholesome breakfast with fruit – healthy choices breed healthy choices, so it’s a great way of “tricking” your brain into a positive cycle.

Laura Clark RD

7. Plan your snacks

Know in advance the tough points in the day and make a plan. For example, after work is a really challenging time. We tend to be tired and hungry, and our mood will be influenced by how our day went. To prevent post work snack-athons, have a planned snack to eat before you get over-hungry, ideally at 3pm. Keep an emergency snack supply on your person in case you get short. Make it a source of protein and fibre e.g. pulse based snacks, nut and seed bars or dried fruit and popcorn – which is actually a wholegrain.

LC

8. Keep your fruit bowl on display

Put a bright, colourful fruit bowl in sight between your keys and the front door. Put foods you want to avoid, such as the biscuit barrel, out of sight and out of mind.

LC

9. Put your trainers on

No matter what you're doing, put your trainers on to travel to work or at the start of the day. You will walk quicker and it may encourage you to be more physically active.

LC

10. Make a poster for the fridge

Visual guides really help people get their heads around what constitutes a balanced diet. Imagine a poster of a plate split into three: filled half with veg, a quarter with carbs and a quarter with protein. You can even buy personalised, illustrated healthy eating plates for the kids.

Jo Travers RD, author of The Low Fad Diet ( thelondonnutritionist.co.uk[https://www.thelondonnutritionist.co.uk/] )

11. Use your hands as a visual portion guide

A portion of carbs is the size of your fist, protein should be the size of your palm and fruit or veg is a cupped handful.

JT

12. Find a healthy eating buddy

Find a friend who is going through the same journey, who also wants to make positive choices. Having someone to talk to will help to motivate you.

Rhiannon Lambert RNutr, author of Renourish: A Simple Way to Eat Well ( rhitrition.com[https://rhitrition.com/] )

13. Food prep is key

Any prep you can do to make healthy food as convenient as possible will increase the likelihood of making positive choices – pre-chop, pre-cook, or keep microwaveable pouches of rice and whole grains at home or bags of frozen spinach or even sweet potato chips in the freezer. "Convenience" foods don't necessarily have to be considered unhealthy.

RL

14. Keep a diary

A food mood diary can help you to identify how your emotions are linked to food. That way, you’ll be aware of your own inner cues and you can make positive changes. If it’s cake that you tend to crave, you could decide to carry some chocolate covered rice cakes as an alternative.

RL

15. Move away from your desk

Keep a Post-It note on your desktop to remind you to eat away from technology and to focus on eating mindfully, chewing your food and tapping into the senses, rather than being in a rush and being distracted. Don’t become numb to your relationship with food – it should be sociable and enjoyable.

RL

According to a new study, an additional 1.7 million Canadians will be living with obesity by 2023.

Our growing girth is already at historic levels, and we're among the heaviest countries in the world. Over the past decade, rates of overweight and obesity have increased in Canada, France, Mexico, Switzerland and the U.S., according to a 2017 report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. More than one in four adults is obese in Canada. Within three years, there will be a total of 8.5 million people in a weight class considered a serious threat to health.

All of this leaves virtually no chance of meeting World Health Organization targets for a zero increase in obesity from 2010 to 2025, a global goal set to address the health impacts of weight gain (such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and certain cancers) as well as the cost to healthcare systems, estimated at $5 to $7 billion in Canada alone.

"The burden surprised me," says Laura Rosella, co-author of the modelling study and an associate professor in epidemiology at the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health. "I thought, optimistically, that we have actually been making progress in terms of awareness and efforts to reduce obesity.

"It's going to get worse before it gets better."

Why? It's not, as comedian Bill Maher recently put it, because people are "eating like a-holes."

Try to lose weight and the brain fights back, aggressively.

Higher levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin are released, sending a single-minded message to the nerves in the hypothalamus: "Get food."

At the same time, the brain blocks satiety, or "I'm full," signals from the gut and slows down the rate at which calories are burned.

This "famine" effect can last a year or longer as people struggle to keep the lost weight off.

"It is an incredible and efficient response to weight loss," obesity specialist Dr. David Macklin says with awe.

But Maher's fat-shaming quip taps into a common misperception: that obesity comes down to some kind of moral failing, a lack of discipline and self-control, and that the solution is as simple as "finding the right diet and working out a ton," Macklin says.

In fact, it goes much deeper.

"We now have great clarity that obesity is a chronic and complex, progressive, primarily genetically conferred, centred-in-the-brain, environmentally influenced, real medical condition," sums up Macklin, the medical director of a weight management program for high-risk pregnancies at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital.

The tendency is to blame obesity primarily on poor food choices - sugary drinks, salty, greasy processed foods, staggering portion sizes.

But a growing body of research suggests that the appeal of these foods, as well as the drive to overeat, is rooted in our DNA.

Genome-wide studies have identified hundreds of genes associated with body mass index, waist-tohip ratios and other traits of obesity, most of them expressed - meaning whether they're turned on or off - in the brain.

Many of these genes evolved over millions of years to collect and store excess calories as fat whenever food was available, and to keep early humans from starving whenever food was scarce. Except as we've shifted from hunter-gatherers to farmers, then farmers to factory workers, food is no longer so scarce.

"In this part of the world, for most people, we don't have famine anymore, we have only a feast," says Dr. Sue Pedersen, of the C-ENDO Diabetes and Endocrinology Clinic in Calgary.

Instead of a survival mechanism, gaining excess weight is now a liability. And as scientists are discovering, some of us are more "genetically vulnerable" to packing on the pounds than others, says Macklin.

Part of this is how the brain responds to the hunger hormone ghrelin. In people with a genetic predisposition to obesity, the gut also tends to release fewer quantities of the hormones tied to fullness.

Either way, "If you take people who are the same weight and they have the same metabolic rate and you put everyone on (a) diet, people will lose weight unequally, based on their genetics," says Macklin.

Furthermore, some people who consume excess calories gain fat. "Other people, their body responds by burning more, by increasing their metabolic rate and taking anything extra and putting it into muscle."

Even more frustrating for those less prone to burning fat, the further people get from their highest weight, Macklin says, the harder the body fights against losing it.

How strongly we respond to cues in the environment that generate the fundamental drive to eat - the psychological state known as "wanting" - and our ability to control that "wanting," Macklin says, is heritable as well.

The environment inside our digestive tract may also play a critical role in weight gain.

Each of us plays host to trillions of different bacteria, which colonize our intestines immediately after birth and continue to evolve as we age based on what we eat and where we live. These bacteria impact our digestion, the production of certain vitamins and our immune system.

There's now evidence that people living with obesity have different gut flora than those who are not. According to some scientists, it may be that mircobiota - not just our genes - are reducing the expression of gut satiety hormones.

Although researchers are still exploring exactly how gut bacteria interact with our intestines and the brain, the link appears clear: When mice free of intestinal bugs are fed stool from either obese mice or humans, they put on more weight and body fat than those fed bacteria from the guts of lean mice or humans.

Some antidepressants and newer generation anti-psychotics, drugs Canadians are being prescribed in record numbers, may be behind our rapid and dramatic weight gain too.

Antipsychotics can trigger "hedonic hyperphagia" - eating to excess for pleasure, not hunger. Two years ago, Montreal researchers reported that, after 24 months of treatment, the mean weight of children prescribed antipsychotics for ADHD and other behavioural problems increased by 12.8 kg.

One study published last year in the British Medical Journal found people taking any of the 12 most commonly used antidepressants had an increased risk of weight gain that persisted over at least five years of follow-up. It's not clear why. Depression, in and of itself, can cause weight gain. And people might eat more as their mood improves. Some believe the drugs may affect metabolism or trigger cravings for carbohydrates. But there are options, Pedersen says. Some anti-depressants are "weight neutral" or even induce weight loss.

The chemicals in our food - particularly artificial sweeteners - may also react with taste receptors or gut bacteria in ways that stimulate more food intake, Pedersen adds.

Recent studies suggest there's something about the sheer textural and sensory properties of ultra-processed foods that make us eat more of them, and more quickly. (Again, it could be that foods with "hyper-palatable" amounts of sugar, fat and salt are irresistible to the ancient brain.)

Obesity ultimately still comes down to physics, Pedersen says. "If calories in are higher than calories out, weight will go up." But managing the factors that contribute to that equation is much more complicated than simply sticking to a diet. And a lack of education means that fat-shaming and weight discrimination are as prevalent in medicine as everywhere else.

"Why are obesity rates getting worse?" says Macklin. "When you're talking about a real disease, and you're only offering up advice like, 'Eat less, move more,'it's like saying, 'Listen, I see you have asthma, and it's severe asthma, but just breathe deeper. Just pull yourself up by your bootstraps and I don't want to see you back here wheezing.'"Not only is obesity real, but treatments exist. That should be the messaging to someone with obesity."

Jimmy Dorsey turned to his wife with a weird story about his day.

"He asked me if I had some money in my wallet," Elaine Dorsey said, remembering that evening in 1990 when her generous husband - the guy who was a volunteer firefighter and football coach, who always had a buck for a panhandler or helped pay someone's grocery bill - explained that he'd given some stranger $80 at work that day.

He told her he'd fudged a few things at his travel office for the stranger - buying him an extra ticket and changing his return dates on an existing one. And he was nervous it could cost him his job.

Elaine Dorsey shook her head and let it go. He was always doing something nice for others. And she didn't think he'd get fired for it.

Jimmy Dorsey didn't get fired, but he did change the course of an entire family's life - and maybe even an entire field of science - thanks to his generosity that day.

The stranger was Mahmoud Ghannoum, a renowned scientist who is now known as the world's leading microbiome researcher. (Whenever you read about gut bacteria or probiotics? That's Ghannoum's work.)

Ghannoum was in Washington for a scientific conference in 1990, and he was in trouble.

His country, Kuwait, had just been invaded by Saddam Hussein. His city was in scorched-earth ruin, and his young family was squatting in a dorm room in England while he tried to find work and a way to get them all to the United States.

But the people who could help him find work wouldn't be in the District until the next weekend. He had neither the money to stay there, nor the means to change his plane ticket.

So he ducked into a travel agency and told his story.

The travel agent in charge that day listened to this story from this Muslim man with a mustache, a thick accent and a brown suit.

And he didn't turn him away.

He found a way for Ghannoum to be in D.C. the following weekend, with some keyboard clicks and a new plane ticket. And then he opened his wallet and gave him $80 cash. "So you have some spending money," he told him.

Ghannoum interviewed like a boss and got two job offers.

He told the story about America's open arms for 30 years as he wrote papers, made discoveries and became a force in American science.

But he also never got to thank the man. The travel agency began laying off employees and closed for good not long after Ghannoum settled in America, during the 1991 recession.

So last month, Ghannoum and his son posted something on Facebook, hoping to find their mystery man with little to go on: an African American travel agent in downtown D.C.

I wrote a story about the search.

Tips came in and I made lots of calls, checking in with Ghannoum and striking out each time.

Then I heard from Christine Lehnhoff.

"Ms Dvorak, I worked as a travel agent in D.C. during that time. My boss, Jimmy Dorsey, was a black man, and our office was near Farragut Square," she wrote, after reading the story. She remembered he was a firefighter.

So I found a James Dorsey who worked at the Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company and was a veteran of the Vietnam War.

I sent Ghannoum the photo of 2019 Dorsey. But he wasn't so sure it was his angel. Squinting, he said "maybe 30 years ago. But I'm not so sure."

And I worried we would never know.

Dorsey died in February at 69, just seven months before Ghannoum, who is also 69, began his search.

I left a message for his widow, Elaine. And so did Ghannoum's son, Afif Ghannoum.

She remembered that night her husband came home short of cash with some crazy story about a guy who needed help.

"It wasn't out of the norm for him to do something like this," she told me, after she connected all the dots, talked with Afif and was convinced her husband was Ghannoum's good Samaritan.

But there was still the matter of the photos. Ghannoum didn't recognize the salt-and-pepper-bearded Dorsey of 2019, the man who had been fighting liver and lung cancer for a decade. They were both 39 on that travel agency day.

So Elaine sent the family older pictures of Dorsey, young and fit in Vietnam, with his postwar Afro and white suit in the 1970s, with his close-cropped hair and coach clothes in the 1990s.

"Oh my God, it's him," Ghannoum said. "It's him, 100 percent. I'll never forget him."

The Dorseys and the Ghannoums have been on the phone all week, planning to meet next month. They each told me they have a surprise for the other. (I'll stay mum on that for now, but we'll be back with details when they meet.)

Yes, it's bittersweet that the men will never get to shake hands or hug, that a man-to-man thank you will never happen.

But Elaine said she's satisfied that the story will live on, that her sweet husband's impulsive act of kindness produced good in the world.

And that it may inspire others to be kind.

We all thank you, Jimmy Dorsey.

petula.dvorak@washpost.com

Twitter: @petulad

Read more Petula Dvorak:

D.C. is awash in illegal guns. How do you think they get there?

This is what legal immigration looks like. And it's a mess.

This is #MeToo, two years later

Their neighbor apparently saved the swastika cookies for special guests

PHOTO: Mitch Blunt

The idea of "gut health" entered the personal health world just a few years ago, but it has already become one of the biggest trends in nutrition. The new focus on the living microorganisms in our digestive systems has particularly fueled one fast-growing market for foods and supplements: probiotics.

Are probiotics actually good for us? Over the past decade, U.S. consumption has more than quadrupled, and in the next 10 years global sales are forecast to nearly double. But the most recent research suggests that over-the-counter probiotic supplements—the hottest growth area—could have a detrimental effect.

Probiotics are microorganisms, such as bacteria or yeast, intended to confer health benefits. They can be ingested in supplements such as pills and capsules, or in foods and beverages that are naturally rich in them or infused with them, including yogurt, kombucha or fermented vegetables. The health claims made for probiotics range from preventing tooth decay and eczema to treating diarrhea and inflammatory bowel diseases, ulcers, vaginal and urinary tract infections, and even cancer. They are most popularly associated, however, with maintaining overall gut health.

When we talk about gut health, we're really talking about the gut microbiome, made up of the hundreds of kinds of microbiota such as bacteria, parasites and viruses that are routinely found in and on our body. The increased attention to the health of our gut microbiome is undoubtedly good. An unhealthy microbiome has been linked with a growing list of diseases and conditions, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, psoriasis, childhood-onset asthma, gastrointestinal disorders and neuropsychiatric illness like depression and anxiety. Some research also points to a link between gut bacterium and key hormones that regulate appetite and can contribute to obesity.

Studies over the past 10 years have shown that the greater the diversity of our microbiome, the better our health outcomes. Such diversity is also linked with lower overall body fat, reduced insulin resistance, better immune function and decreased inflammation—all important for fighting diseases. More recent research has shown connections between the microbiome and a number of different cancers, including colon, liver, pancreatic, lung and breast; emerging data also link it to melanoma. In a landmark paper[https://science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6371/97] by my colleague Dr. Jennifer Wargo at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center that was published in Science last year, melanoma patients with the healthiest gut microbiomes—that is, the greatest diversity of microorganisms—showed enhanced systemic and antitumor immunity as well as significantly increased odds of responding to immunotherapy. The microbiome has clearly become part of the puzzle of how cancer develops and how patients respond to treatment.

I've spent most of my adult life dedicated to cancer research, so when I was diagnosed[https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/I-ve-devoted-most-of-my-adult-life-to-research-13426253.php] with advanced melanoma just over a year ago, I felt confident that I knew exactly what I needed to do. Alongside my conventional care, my first step was to get my gut microbiome—already in good shape from my mostly vegan, high-fiber diet—as healthy as possible.

I started eating and drinking more foods that are rich in probiotics. My gastrointestinal tract felt great and everything was going along smoothly (pun intended). I assumed that the kinds of bacteria in these foods increased the diversity of my microbiome, as each one would contribute something different. But I could find little actual information available to make certain of that: Probiotics may list multiple bacteria in their ingredients, but they usually come from no more than five different major strains and often only the same two, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium.

I also stopped eating refined carbohydrates (white flour, white rice, etc.) and ate less whole grains, because I wanted to lower my overall glycemic load. Extensive research shows that dietary glycemic load—a reflection of the amount of sugar in your diet—is linked with cancer risk and worse outcomes after a cancer diagnosis. We also know that spikes in insulin, due to rapid increases in glucose when eating a refined carbohydrate-rich diet, leads to inflammation—which also raises cancer risk and has other negative health consequences.

After about six months of this modified diet, I expected my gut microbiome to be in great health. Instead, to my shock, its diversity was less than before I started the diet. I had actually made the health of my microbiome worse.

My personal results were mirrored by a study[https://www.aacr.org/Newsroom/Pages/News-Release-Detail.aspx?ItemID=1273] that our MD Anderson team had just presented at an international meeting. The provocative findings received a lot of publicity. The preliminary results showed that patients who reported taking an over-the-counter probiotic supplement had a lower probability of responding to immunotherapy as well as lower microbiome biodiversity. But those eating a high-fiber diet were about five times more likely to respond to immunotherapy and had high gut bacteria diversity, including bacteria previously linked to a strong immunotherapy response.

It turned out that taking an over-the-counter probiotic pill could inadvertently decrease microbiome biodiversity. A study last year from Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science similarly found that taking an over-the-counter probiotic supplement delayed reconstitution and recovery of the gut microbiome in mice and humans after antibiotic treatment.

To get my microbiome back on track, I reduced the probiotic-rich foods I was eating and drinking and I started to add more fermentable fibers from healthy whole grains like oats, buckwheat and barley and from seeds such as hemp, flax and chia. The results were startling. Not only did the diversity increase, the change completely reversed the negative effect of the probiotics-rich, low whole-grain diet and even improved my gut health over my previous vegan diet.

In my case, we do not know for sure what caused the increase in biodiversity—decreasing the probiotic-rich foods, increasing healthy whole grains and seeds, or a combination of both. It's possible that too much consumption of a narrow band of probiotics may disrupt an otherwise diverse and healthy microbiome. Or it may be more important to keep up the consumption of grains because they are the main food source for beneficial bacteria. What we do know is that a low-fiber diet is associated with low biodiversity and a scarcity of healthy bacterial species, and that the microbiome flourishes with a high-fiber diet that includes fermentable fibers from whole grains and other foods.

The market for probiotic-rich designer foods is huge, and the supplement industry and technologies to manipulate the microbiome are ever-expanding. Yet I now believe that the cheapest and safest way to improve our microbiome and gut health is to make simple dietary changes to feed the development of good bacteria and crowd out the bad. There is no pill, special food, unique diet or quick fix for what ails our health and diet. The key is simply to focus on eating a diverse, whole-food, plant-centered, high-fiber diet.

Dr. Cohen is director of the Integrative Medicine Program at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and the co-author of "Anticancer Living: Transform Your Life and Health with the Mix of Six."

(Adds share movement, CFO comment, details)

COPENHAGEN, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Shares in food ingredient maker Chr. Hansen dropped 11% to their lowest in 1-1/2 years on Thursday after the company said it expected lower sales growth next year on weak demand particularly in emerging markets.

Chr. Hansen, which has seen its shares drop almost a quarter in value since a sales warning in June, produces enzymes and bacteria for the dairy, wine and meat industries and is one of the top three producers of probiotics for animals.

The company said it expected organic sales growth next year of between 4% and 8%, below its long-term guidance of 8% to 10%. It left its forecast for EBIT margin unchanged at 29.5%.

"We are facing more uncertainty in the coming year and that affects our momentum right now," Chief Financial Officer Soren Lonning told Reuters after the company reported 2019 profits which were slightly below analysts' expectations.

Lonning said Chr. Hansen faced weak demand, particularly in emerging markets such as Argentina, the Middle East and China, its largest single emerging market.

"In China, demand on a number of things has gone down. We see slightly lower consumer confidence, we have seen food prices go up," he added.

Chr. Hansen posted net profit for the financial year ended Aug. 31 of 250.2 million euros ($274.97 million), slightly below an estimate of 253.8 million euros in a Refinitiv poll.

Shares in Chr. Hansen dropped as much as 11% on Tuesday, reaching their lowest level since April last year, before trimming the losses to traded down 9.1% at 0720 GMT.

It reported organic sales growth of 7% for the year, in line with its downward revised outlook from June of organic growth between 7% and 8%.

($1=0.9099 euros) (Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

With a growing awareness and understanding of mental health problems – and an acceptance that they can happen indiscriminately to anyone – we are slowly accepting that we have to work on our mental health as much as our physical health.

Along with a rise in people with the most severe symptoms, according to a NHS Digital study, general anxiety disorders are on the rise, too: a study of UK adults by Headspace found that 67 per cent of people feel more stressed than they were five years ago.

But we’re getting better at talking about it. In the UK, according to research released today by Ipsos MORI and the Policy Institute at King’s College London, four in five of us say that our mental health is as important as our physical health. Out of the 20,000 people surveyed, 68pc said seeing a mental health professional is a sign of strength.

We’re realising that just as with physical fitness, it’s small daily habits that make the big difference in the long run to how we feel. “Small things add up exponentially,” psychologist Linda Blair agrees. “Everything is finite, so if you save up for a holiday in the summer once a year, then when it’s over, that’s it for the whole year. But if instead you take a moment or two several times a day, every day, to implement smaller changes, then in the long run you’ll feel better.”

365 EOA[https://cf-particle-html.eip.telegraph.co.uk/729ee614-a326-4b21-a6a8-06d75a692ed2.html]

While there is no substitute for professional help for those who have serious problems, adding in some small daily habits can benefit all of us – as long as we don’t feel stressed out by the thought of adding even more into a busy day. Remember, these are suggestions to slowly add into your routine, not a prescription to live by.

7.02am – Wake up with the birds

It might not feel like it when the alarm goes off, but if you can get up and open the curtains to watch the sunrise, rather than pressing snooze, it can have surprising mental health benefits[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18589939] . “It gives you a fresh feeling for the day that is so energising,” Blair says. She adds that there’s always the option to get back under the covers.

7.10am – Get your heart pumping

But now you’re up, go out for a run – or a ride, or a swim, or whatever. “Exercise strengthens your self-control, brings a sense of achievement and improves your physical self-esteem,” Professor Andy Lane, Sports Psychologist at The Centre for Health and Human Performance[http://chhp.com] says.

While time of day isn’t important, Prof Lane recommends exercising at the start of the day. “It gives you a sense of accomplishment and develops a physical sense of self-worth at the start of the day.”

As for the type of exercise you do... it doesn't really matter. While different studies promote benefits of one type of exercise over another – a recent study this year found that hatha yoga had anxiety reducing effects for women – when Prof Lane and his colleagues studied it, they found, unsurprisingly, that the best exercise was simply the one you like most[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3880887/] .

8.00am – Take a new route to work

Whether you’re taking the kids to school or going to work, varying the way you get there can help. “It focuses your mind on what’s happening right now, which direction you have to travel, rather than that anxious voice in your head that says, “Oh god, I wonder if what I said yesterday was stupid,” Blair advises. “It gives you a little break from those thoughts.”

11.00am – Purge your online connections

We spend about 142 minutes per day on social media, according to report by the Global Web Index – and studies show that it can make us miserable. While full-on digital detoxes are rarely practical, or even desirable, mental health campaigner Jada Sezer[https://www.instagram.com/jadasezer/?hl=en] (who has 266k followers on Instagram) recommends a monthly purge. “Unfollow or mute accounts that don’t actively make you feel happy and inspired. Don’t forget, you have the power to curate your feed.”

A good exercise to do during that mid-morning lull at work, rather than scrolling mindlessly through Instagram updates.

12.30pm – Eat happily

You really can eat yourself happy, thanks to friendly gut bacteria. “The gut/brain axis is where it's at,” confirms Dr Megan Rossi, author of Eat Yourself Healthy, and the woman behind the popular @theguthealthdoctor[https://www.instagram.com/theguthealthdoctor/?hl=en] account on Instagram. She points to a landmark study in 2017[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5641835/] that showed that following a gut-boosting diet (delivering 50g of fibre per day, rather than the paltry 20g or less most of us manage) “significantly improved people's depression scores after 12 weeks compared to a placebo.”

Dr Rossi says that we should aim for 30 different plant-based foods per week, including wholegrains, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds and legumes. “It’s not as difficult as it sounds,” she says. “A teaspoon of mixed seeds on whatever you're having for breakfast will give you three points, or when you buy broccoli get the multi variety pack for extra diversity.”

She adds that we should opt for extra virgin olive oil, which is full of plant chemicals (known as polyphenols) that feed our gut bacteria. “Plant based diversity feeds a diverse range of gut bacteria, and having a more diverse range of gut bacteria is linked with better mental health.”

3.30pm – Money mindfulness

It doesn’t matter how wealthy you are – there’s one thing that makes you happier when it comes to your finances.

In the course of researching her book, The Power of Talking about Money, Alex Holder said she spoke to hundreds of people about what they earned, from millionaires to those on average salaries to people earning minimum wage or even on benefits. “One thing I took from these conversations was that money can’t buy happiness – but a sense of control over your finances can,” she says. “People who spent less than they earned, checked in on their bank balance, avoided FOMO spending, practiced mindful spending and weren’t in debt (or were taking steps to get out of it) were happier than those bulldozing through thousands of pounds each month not knowing where it was going and with no idea how far into their overdraft they would be by payday.”

The free app Mint[https://www.mint.com/] lets you create a budget and then tracks spending by connecting all your bank and credit card accounts, as well as all your monthly bills. Glance it over during your afternoon tea and cake break.

5.30pm – Write about your day

Journaling has been adopted en masse by the wellness set, but there is serious scientific research, including two published in the Journal of Research in Personality[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656607001286?via%3Dihub], that shows how it can reduce stress.

It’s particularly good for midlifers with to-do lists and caring responsibilities that seem to only get bigger, not smaller. Zoe Blaskey, a life coach and founder of Motherkind[http://motherkind.co], says it’s her top tip for improving her own mental health. “It works because it gets us out of our heads, gives perspective, and a connection back to ourselves amongst all the running around and business. You only need two to five minutes, you can do it anywhere at any time. I use a pen and paper, but you can even do it on your phone.”

She suggests asking yourself, ‘How am I feeling right now? What do I need? What words do I need to hear? What am I grateful for?’ Try it on your commute home.

Numbers to call[https://cf-particle-html.eip.telegraph.co.uk/e6d2964e-2de1-4e52-9116-c1fd8d7c0b9a.html]

7.30pm – Song time

Instead of plopping down on the sofa, try opening your lungs – and voice box. Mark de Lisser, the founder of Singology choirs [http://singology.com] who regularly appears on The Voice and who also arranged ‘Stand by Me’ for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding, says that singing is a “natural antidepressant.”

Research by the University of Oxford backs him up: as well as releasing neurochemicals and reducing our stress hormone, singing in groups is a bonding activity. “I do believe that singing can change lives, but even on a small scale, on a daily basis, it makes people feel good about themselves," de Lisser adds.

10.00pm – Close your eyes and meditate

We’ve heard it a thousand times: meditation is good for our mental health. But it’s true. In a review of nearly 19,000 meditation studies, researchers from Johns Hopkins University concluded that mindful meditation really can ease conditions including anxiety and depression.

Catherine Turner, meditation mentor at the Khera-Griggs Cleanse Clinic at Urban Retreat[http://urbanretreat.co.uk/] says that Vedic meditation, which involves repeating a mantra, can help reset the body’s flight or fight response. “Research has shown that this form of effortless repetition of mantra relaxes the body and nervous system at a profound level. This has a ‘butterfly’ effect on our ability to wind down so that the body is able to release sleep hormones such as melatonin more easily.”

11.00pm – Sleep well

We know from countless studies that poor sleep is linked to decreased mental health. So how do we get more sleep? Howard Napper, a yoga expert and wellbeing advocate at Urban Retreat[http://urbanretreat.co.uk/], says that one of his favourite hacks for falling asleep is to listen to the sound of the human voice. “There is an evolutionary benefit to hearing ambient voices of people awake and keeping guard, which would lead to feeling secure when you are going through the vulnerable period of falling asleep. This can be in the form of a podcast or guided meditation set on a timer.”

Autumn is officially here, and when the seasons change your skincare requires a rethink too. "Temperature and humidity fluctuate during this time of year, impacting the equilibrium of the skin,” explains Dr Mervyn Patterson[https://www.woodfordmedical.com/about/team/dr-patterson], cosmetic dermatologist at Woodford Medical. As a result, the skin can become aggravated, dull and much dryer, leading to wrinkles and a loss of elasticity.

Beauty newsletter REFERRAL (article)[https://cf-particle-html.eip.telegraph.co.uk/021a45ce-df84-4a22-9801-b89fbd6e5e3a.html]

Environmental aggressors aren't the only things ageing your skin during the autumn season. Seeking comfort food full of sugar to get you through the grey days (and nights) can increase skin ageing too, says registered nutritionist Gabriela Peacock[https://gpnutrition.com/pages/meet-gabriela-peacock] .

All is not lost however, as a few simple tweaks to your routine is all you need to age proof your complexion and to look as glowing and radiant as you did during the summer.

These are four of the best ways to protect your skin from autumnal ageing:

Dry, crepey skin? Use a heavy duty night cream

Lotus Youth Preserve Night Recovery Cream, £45, Fresh[https://www.fresh.com/uk/lotus-youth-preserve-dream-night-cream-H00004742.html]

Whilst it’s still relatively mild during the day, temperatures at night drop dramatically during the autumn months and can strip the skin of its natural moisture. This results in dull complexions and contributes to the formation of wrinkles and fine lines.

Avoid this by applying a nutrient rich nourishing cream at night to support the skin as it goes into restoration mode. Try the Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve Night Recovery Cream, as it contains hydrating and antioxidant rich lotus plant extract that helps the skin regenerate, leaving it plump and supple.

Dehydrated? Swap caffeine for something nutrient rich

Supreme Matcha Green, £2, Pukka[https://www.boots.com/pukka-fairtrade-organic-supreme-matcha-green-20-tea-sachets-30g-10184786]

"We tend to slip into consuming more hot caffeinated beverages during Autumn, which can leave our skin dry and papery,” says Peacock. Dehydrated skin occurs due to depleted levels of water in the top layer of the skin, and while central heating is one culprit, mild diuretic caffeine is another. One or two cups a day wont be detrimental, however, increasingly substituting water for hot caffeinated drinks can have a drying and ageing effect on the skin. Alternate between coffee and water or try swapping to herbal teas to get your recommended six to eight glasses of water per day. Matcha green tea is a great option for protecting the skin from free radicals and also contains micronutrients that promote a healthy gut and glowing skin.

Puffy, carb face? Use a collagen boosting serum

ULTRA SMART Pro-Collagen Complex 12 Serum, £210, Elemis[https://www.elemis.com/ultra-smart-pro-collagen-complex-12-serum.html]

"Comfort foods are common go-tos once autumn creeps in and nights get colder. This often comes in the form of carbohydrate rich, sugary varieties that increase the release of the 'happy chemical’ serotonin," explains Peacock. Whilst we may receive temporary satisfaction from eating these foods, through the process of glycation sugar bonds itself to the natural moisturisers in our skin causing inflammation, depletion of collagen and damage to the skin's structure. As a result elasticity is lost and sagging, puffiness and wrinkles ensue.

Along with trying to reduce your intake of sugar, opt for the Elemis ULTRA SMART Pro-Collagen Complex 12 Serum, £210. This collagen boosting serum, works to repair and renew with the help of 12 different types of hydrating, firming and restructuring algae.

Sensitised skin? Use a gentle cleanser

Cleansing Hero, £18, Tandem[https://tandemskincare.co.uk/products/cleansing-hero]

From cold mornings, to humid afternoons, and occasional wind and heavy showers, weather at the start of autumn changes daily - or, in some cases, hourly. These frequent shifts can wreak havoc on the skin’s natural barrier and increase sensitivity. Fragile, irritated skin is more vulnerable to free radicals and pollutants, both key factors in the early onset of wrinkles.

To avoid weakening your protective barrier, swap stripping acid cleansers for more gentle milk based versions. Tandem Cleansing Hero, is packed full of anti-inflammatory squalane and soothing organic rice bran oil, making it exactly what you need to remove pollution and dirt without disturbing your skin during these erratic weather changes.

The calls started pouring in soon after word spread that Dr. Valerie Taylor was testing fecal microbiota transplantation - transferring poop from one body to another - for bipolar disorder.

The mental health condition is different from depression. It comes with mania, the "up" swings that can make people feel superhuman. "But so many people with depression called wanting to take part in the study we felt we had an obligation to try," said Taylor, chief of psychiatry at the University of Calgary.

Two years after spearheading the bipolar study, the first of its kind in the world, Taylor has now launched a second study testing fecal transplants in people with depression, as well as a third for depression in people who also have irritable bowel syndrome.

"The literature that we're on to something has grown," said Taylor. "But we're not Goop," she added, referring to Gwyneth Paltrow's often airy lifestyle brand. "We want to know if there's something here or not."

No area of psychiatry is as hot, or controversial today as the idea of manipulating the gut to alter the mind. The trillions of bacteria living in the human gut have been shown to play a crucial role in gut-brain communication, researchers write in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. The hope is that enhancing good gut microbes - whether with probiotics, fecal transplants or capsules filled with donor stool, or by adding sauerkraut or other fermented foods to the diet - may be the answer to intractable depression, the kind conventional treatments can't touch.

It could also fundamentally alter the way we conceptualize mental illness. "We now think mental illness is essentially a brain illness, and it may be that it isn't," Taylor said.

Gastro-intestinal problems are common among people with depression and anxiety, and studies suggest people with depression have a different gut flora than people without. Intestinal bacteria also produce serotonin, dopamine and other brain chemicals that regulate mood.

There are also direct connections via the vagus nerve, which connects nerves in the gastrointestinal system to those in the brain. Years ago, doctors used to cut away the vagus nerve as a way to treat peptic ulcers. But people who underwent a "vagotomy" showed higher rates of psychiatric illness post surgery.

The field is still in its infancy, and it's premature to suggest "psychobiotics" or poop transplants are ready to replace standard treatments. For one thing, to be successful, donor bacteria has to attach to the recipient's gut.

Just how gut bacteria communicate with the brain, and the brain with the gut, isn't entirely clear, though Taylor suspects the immune part is paramount. Gut bacteria influences the immune system. Stress causes inflammation and inflammation can lead to conditions like gut dysbiosis, which has been linked with altered brain function.

There is some evidence certain probiotics - particularly bifidobacterium and lactobacillus supplements - can improve human moods. Results for anxiety have been mixed, though one small study found fermented, probiotic-containing foods appeared to protect against social anxiety disorder in people with higher-than-normal levels of neuroticism.

Fecal transplants, for their part, have a near 100 per cent success rate in curing antibiotic-resistant Clostridium difficile, a hospital-acquired super bug, and Taylor believes they do a better job at recolonizing the gut than probiotics.

Part of her enthusiasm comes from "really profound" animal studies showing that when stool from depressed humans is transplanted into germ-free mice - mice raised in ultra-sterile environments and free of intestinal bugs - the rodents show depressive-like behaviours.

"Humans aren't mice and mice aren't humans," said Taylor, who moved to Calgary from Toronto's Women's College Hospital a year ago to take on the headship of the U of Calgary program. "But there's clearly a signal."

The Calgary depression studies will be comparing fecal tablets - poop pills - against a placebo. The bipolar study, still underway in Toronto, involves injecting specially prepared stool from a donor into the recipient's colon via colonoscopy. It's a randomized trial: some are injected with donor feces, others re-infused with their own poop.

"We really wanted to look at quite ill individuals and say we're going to take out the entire gut microbiome and introduce a new one and see if we can recolonize," Taylor said.

But there are caveats: Stool donors have to be rigorously screened. One Toronto stool donor program recently reported that, in the first two years of the program, only two of 322 prospective donors - 0.6 per cent - passed screening.

Donors also must have zero history of mental illness, in either themselves or first-degree relatives.

"Can you cause schizophrenia if you gave somebody stool from someone with schizophrenia? We don't know," Taylor said. But certainly the mouse studies suggest these behaviours are transferable.

Taylor is cautious, noting in a recent editorial that charlatans and self-appointed wellness gurus have been all too happy to suggest cleaning out the colon can instantly improve well-being. We need to manage the hype, she said.

"I would love to be able to show this actually works and that it's potentially game changing," Taylor said. "We're not there yet. But I think we're getting there."

skirkey@postmedia.com Twitter.com/sharon_kirkey

McDonald's USA President Chris Kempczinski says the number of consumers who will buy something that doesn't taste great but conforms to their values is small. PHOTO: Gabe Palacio for The Wall Street Journal

For some food companies, the hype surrounding healthier fare is lip service.

McDonald's USA President Chris Kempczinski said most of its customers order based on taste, not nutritional value or environmental impact.

"Other considerations become tie breakers," Mr. Kempczinski said at The Wall Street Journal Global Food Forum in New York on Monday.

Dirk Van de Put, chief executive officer of Oreo maker Mondelez International Inc., said at the forum that even as the snack company cuts sugar in some of its products and adds probiotics to others, indulgences such as Cadbury chocolate and Chips Ahoy continue to drive sales.

More From WSJ Food Forum

* Food Forum Nuggets: Future of Food Features Plenty of Snacks, CEO Says[https://www.wsj.com/articles/mondelez-ceo-the-future-of-food-features-plenty-of-snacks-11570453437]

* U.S. Markets Farm Goods to Nations Beyond China[https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-markets-farm-goods-to-nations-beyond-china-11570489468]

* Meat, Milk Groups Seek to Defend Supermarket Turf[https://www.wsj.com/articles/meat-and-milk-groups-seek-to-defend-supermarket-turf-11570465758]

"There's a difference between what people say and what they do," he said. "The facts of what people really buy are very different."

McDonald's and Mondelez are among companies focusing on improving and marketing their core products.

Healthier snacks make up about 20% of the global snack market, Mr. Van de Put said. Those sales are growing faster than those of indulgent snacks but won't ever reach 80% of sales, he said.

'There's a difference between what people say and what they do,' Dirk Van de Put, CEO of Oreo maker Mondelez, says. PHOTO: Gabe Palacio for The Wall Street Journal

Food companies are still investing in healthier products, but they don't always find fans.

McDonald's in recent years replaced french fries with apples in its kids' meals. But it discontinued some of the salads it had added to its menu. In 2017, Mondelez introduced a health-oriented cracker it called Vea, with such flavors as Greek hummus and Tuscan herbs. The high-fiber snack was ultimately a dud, and Mondelez discontinued it after spending three years developing the product, Mr. Van de Put said.

Share Your Thoughts

Is taste or healthfulness more important to you in the foods you buy? Join the conversation below.

Now Mondelez is trying to test new ideas more nimbly, with smaller numbers of consumers to gauge their response.

"It is difficult to predict what will be big," he said.

Food companies and restaurants have worked for years to give consumers more healthful and natural foods. While sales for such products have surged, some established food companies[https://www.wsj.com/articles/changing-snack-appetites-leave-granola-bars-behind-11570359602]have struggled to figure out how to keep up with new brands and chains that have grabbed much of the growth.

Campbell Soup Co. is trying again to revive its soup sales[https://www.wsj.com/articles/campbell-tries-to-reheat-soup-sales-11562504401]after abandoning an attempt to sell fresh foods, and the private-equity backers that took Hostess Brands Inc. public three years ago found new growth by expanding its decadent brands[https://www.wsj.com/articles/give-the-people-what-they-wantmore-twinkies-1478184809] to new types of products like frozen, deep-fried Twinkies.

"There is a very, very small group of consumers out there who will buy something that doesn't taste great because it conforms to their particular values," Mr. Kempczinski said.

Some newer companies say young consumers in particular respond to their claims of healthfulness and environmental mindfulness.

"Consumers want something else from food," said Jonathan Neman, co-founder and CEO of the build-your-own salad chain Sweetgreen. "They want food they can trust." He added that such products still have to taste good.

"You can't just tell people to eat it because it's healthy," he said.

Heather Haddon contributed to this article.

Write to Annie Gasparro at annie.gasparro@wsj.com[mailto:annie.gasparro@wsj.com] and Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com[mailto:micah.maidenberg@wsj.com]

This is why Millie Gooch decided to give up drinking. “I knew quite early on that hangovers affected me mentally just as much as they did physically. I’d wake up feeling on edge, like I’d done something wrong or upset someone - even though my friends all told me I’d been perfectly well behaved.

"Towards my late twenties, even just having a glass of champagne would make me feel uncomfortable and uneasy. Hangover anxiety began to permeate my everyday life. I lost all confidence, motivation, and some hangovers even left me bedridden; not because I was sick or tired but because my mind had gone into overdrive and I was sweating and shaking in panic.”

She’d never had anything like an alcohol addiction before, but the ‘hangover-induced anxiety’ she regularly felt after a night of alcohol motivated her towards sobriety. Now, the 27-year-old journalist from Kent has been sober for 18 months, and has already noticed a huge difference in her mental health.

“Whereas I used to suffer with bouts of anxiety that had no explanation or reasoning, any anxiety I do get now is situational and I’m able to manage it so much better than when I was drinking," she explains.

“Instead of being hungover I now go to the gym, get outside, read self-development books and make the most of every minute which has all contributed to really positive mental and physical health. I genuinely could not be happier.”

Her discovery of sobriety inspired her to create the Instagram account Sober Girl Society,[https://www.instagram.com/sobergirlsociety/?hl=en] which now has more than 40,000 followers and works as a support group for people looking to drastically cut down their alcohol intake.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by SOBER GIRL SOCIETY (@sobergirlsociety)[https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz8YuOMgjzC/] on Jul 15, 2019 at 9:07am PDT

Posts include quotes like ‘Sobriety: a sure-fire way to drastically improve your health and Uber rating’, and ‘sobriety over hangxiety.’

“I really wanted to create something for young British party girls who still wanted an active social life but just wanted to take drinking out of the equation,” she says. “It offers space for like-minded women to hang out and make the most of hangover-free living whilst supporting each other in sobriety.”

The popularity of Gooch’s account shows that she’s by no means the only person turning away from alcohol to improve their wellbeing. Overall alcohol consumption in the UK has fallen by 16 per cent since 2004,[https://alcoholchange.org.uk/alcohol-facts/fact-sheets/alcohol-statistics] while teetotalism is rapidly increasing with younger age groups, particularly health-conscious teens and millennials. But it isn’t just their physical health they’re worried about; it’s mental.

Last week, a new study[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/alcohol-women-give-up-drinking-mental-health-abstinence-study-a8992561.html] in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that people who abstain from drinking alcohol enjoy the highest level of mental wellbeing - particularly women. Dr Michael Ni, co-author of the study, explained: “Our findings suggest caution in recommendations that moderate drinking could improve health-related quality of life. Instead, quitting drinking may be associated with a more favourable change in mental wellbeing, approaching the level of lifetime abstainers.”

It’s something I personally stumbled across recently. After being forced to go alcohol-free for a four-week yoga course in India, I realised just how much more positive and balanced my mood was. The anxiety I used to experience regularly was lessened, but the second I had my first drink back home (a glass of Prosecco with my mum) and I noticed the anxiety start to creep back in. A week later, after a night drinking wine over dinner followed by whiskey, I woke up feeling ashamed, panicked and slightly ashamed for no reason at all; the 'hangxiety' was back.

Even though I never imagined that I’d go teetotal or would even need to, considering I generally drink around the NHS guidelines, I’m starting to wonder if I should give up the summer evening G&Ts and wines with dinner to improve my mental health. I always thought that drinking moderately was enough for my health, but psychotherapist and Counselling Directory member[https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellors/peter-klein] Peter Klein, based at The Priory, explains: “Regularly drinking within the recommended guideline amount can still have a negative effect on one's mental health. Sometimes people are very busy and drink in order to relax or in order to temporarily brighten up their mood, but essentially they're replacing an uncomfortable emotional state with a more pleasant one.

“The problem here is that people then subconsciously start learning to fear their own emotions which only makes their inner tension stronger. This of course promotes more avoidance strategies and therefore creates a negative cycle that can be very hard to get out of. In addition, research has shown that gut bacteria can be damaged by regular alcohol consumption which is a problem as many studies now show how important a healthy gut flora is for mental health.”

The answer, of course, is that it’s always going to be different for everyone, and each individual needs to think about what works best for them. Liz Horsman, 43, used to drink almost every day. As a songwriter and record producer travelling the world for work, alcohol was a part of her life. None of her friends or family thought she had a problem, but inside, Horsman felt "insecure, neurotic and emotional."

“Drinking had stopped being awesome,” she wrote on her website, Voice of Calm[https://voiceofcalm.com/] . “The awesome highs I had once loved were now few and far between, replaced by a sort of duty to an old friend: a drinking routine that was fuelling anxiety and deep seated guilt.”

10 refreshing non-alcoholic cocktails for a hot summer's day[https://cf-particle-html.eip.telegraph.co.uk/5d53857e-2d4f-4c3e-9940-a4466e52d456.html]

For her, giving up alcohol meant rediscovering her identity, and learning to be fully in the present rather than always escaping. “The richness of experience I now enjoy doesn’t even compare to being drunk,” she says. “I have learnt that I am stronger than I thought, lighter hearted than I feared and more dedicated than I ever imagined. My thoughts are clear and linear and my memory is actually really good when I am not fighting the haze of drunk recall.”

Yet while Horsman decided that going completely teetotal was right for her, Will Aylward, 28, is still deciding what’s best for his mental health. He used to "binge and drink a lot when growing up, like a lot of British males’" but recently had a hypnosis session in April to stop drinking, after he noticed it exacerbated the panic attacks he’s suffered from since his early 20s. “It’s the longest I’ve gone without drinking since I was 15,” says the author of Becoming Unstuck. “My thinking is so much clearer, I've lost a little weight, I'm saving money and feel a great sense of self-control, plus I don't miss the hangovers and anxiety that came with them at all.”

But at the same time, Aylward is keen to find a way to keep moderate drinking in his life. His goal is “better self-care and prioritisation”, which for him, means learning to continue enjoying a drink whilst taking care of his health. It’s why he is planning to have another hypnotherapy session soon to help him “return to drinking in a non-bingeing way, just to enjoy the odd drink socially, but to stop after two or three.”

As for me, I’m what the growing community defines as ‘sober-curious’. It means that I’m aware of the negative effects that alcohol has on my mental health, but I still haven’t decided what to do about it. I’ve definitely cut down on drinking and know that I feel better for choosing club sodas over vodka sodas, but I can’t decide if I’m ready to commit to full-blown sobriety. Is a lifetime without summer gins and celebratory champagne worth saying a permanent goodbye to 'hangxiety'? I honestly don't know.

Telegraph 365 newsletter REFERRAL (article)[https://cf-particle-html.eip.telegraph.co.uk/40cd8a66-f5fa-4b01-828e-6ab606701740.html]

Everyday things can 'rob' our body of nutrients. This week: Antibiotics steal friendly bacteria

BY DAILY MAIL REPORTER

FRIENDLY bacteria are essential for healthy immune and digestive systems. But antibiotics kill them along with the unfriendly bacteria making you ill. The solution is to boost your friendly bacteria with probiotics, found in yoghurts.

'If you take antibiotics, take probiotics, too, separated by a few hours, although it doesn't matter which you take first,' said nutritional biochemist Rachell Hipkiss. 'Live yoghurts are good but not as strong as probiotic pills. Typically, one pill contains the same amount as six pots of yoghurt. Pills are also useful for people with a lactose or dairy intolerance.

'When the course of antibiotics is completed, continue to take probiotics for several weeks. An inefficient digestive system may also mean below optimal nutrient absorption, so taking a good multivitamin may help, too.'

© Daily Mail

William G Kaelin, Sir Peter Ratcliffe and Gregg L Semenza share award for work on how cells adapt to oxygen availabilityReport: Nobel prize in medicine awarded to hypoxia researchers

block-time published-time 12.30pm BST

That's a wrap

So there we have it, this year’s Nobel prize in physiology or medicine goes to a trio of scientists for their work in unpicking how cells sense and respond to changes in oxygen levels.

Check out Ian Sample’s news story here: (he’s just been on the phone to the newly minted laureate Sir Peter Ratcliffe).

Related: Nobel prize in medicine awarded to hypoxia researchers[https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/oct/07/nobel-prize-in-medicine-awarded-to-hypoxia-researchers]

And don’t forget to join us tomorrow for the Nobel prize in physics from 10:15am!

block-time updated-timeUpdated at 12.36pm BST

block-time published-time 12.28pm BST

Prof Bridget Lumb, president of the Physiological Society, has released her thoughts – again stressing how this year’s prize is really a celebration of a fundamental biological mechanism.

“This year’s Nobel prize puts physiology front and centre. It shines a light on the vital research carried out by physiologists,” she said.“Cutting edge physiological research such as this is improving our understanding of how our bodies work and thereby helping keep us healthy.

“Thanks to this research we know much more about how different levels of oxygen impact on physiological processes in our bodies. This has huge implications for everything from recovery from injury and protection from disease, through to improving exercise performance.”

block-time updated-timeUpdated at 12.35pm BST

block-time published-time 12.22pm BST

Kaelin’s thoughts on receiving the call have come out – apparently he was speaking to AP.

“I was aware as a scientist that if you get a phone call at 5am with too many digits, it’s sometimes very good news, and my heart started racing. It was all a bit surreal,” he said.

block-time updated-timeUpdated at 12.35pm BST

block-time published-time 12.19pm BST

Hellmut Augustin, director of the European Centre for Angioscience, is very excited about today’s prize, saying it has been awarded for the discovery of a very fundamental mechanism of life.

“The hypoxia program controls the expression of hundreds of molecules. Among the more prominently oxygen regulated molecules are the master switch of blood vessel growth VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) and the key regulator of erythrocyte [red blood cell] production, erythropoietin,” he said.

“Hypoxia regulation of gene expression governs all kind of biological processes and diseases ranging from the retinopathy of prematurity in newborns, to the growth of blood vessels in tumours to high altitude training of athletes,” he added.

block-time updated-timeUpdated at 12.35pm BST

block-time published-time 12.10pm BST

Nobel selfies seem to be a new thing.

enltrCongratulations to 2019 Medicine Laureate William Kaelin!

Kaelin was alone at home when the call came from Stockholm but sent us this selfie after the #NobelPrize[https://twitter.com/hashtag/NobelPrize?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw] announcement. pic.twitter.com/LRu3D5f29U[https://t.co/LRu3D5f29U]

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 7, 2019[https://twitter.com/NobelPrize/status/1181154286815846400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw]

block-time published-time 12.04pm BST

More reaction – this time from Dr Alex Greenhough at the University of the West of England who works on cancer biology.

“The work by Ratcliffe, Kaelin and Semenza has been crucial to our understanding of how cells sense and respond to changes in oxygen levels,” he said. “Their work is of huge significance to diseases that feature an impaired blood supply, which includes important solid tumours such as breast, colorectal and pancreatic cancers. Their outstanding work on the fundamental mechanisms of oxygen sensing will pave the way for future therapies that will be able to exploit the disease-specific nature of hypoxia for clinical benefit”

block-time published-time 12.02pm BST

Just in case you feel that Gregg Semenza has been left out of the proceedings on the blog, here is a picture of him post-win.

https://twitter.com/NobelPrize/status/1181159403409612801[https://twitter.com/NobelPrize/status/1181159403409612801]

block-time published-time 11.51am BST

Ian Sample has a news story up already on this year’s prize – take a look here. We will be adding further details and reaction to the award as it comes in.

Related: Nobel prize in medicine awarded to hypoxia researchers[https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/oct/07/nobel-prize-in-medicine-awarded-to-hypoxia-researchers]

block-time published-time 11.48am BST

Reaction to this year’s award is coming in. Dr Andrew Murray from the department of physiology, development and neuroscience at the University of Cambridge, said the award was richly deserved and offered the trio his congratulations.

“Oxygen is fundamental to animal life, allowing our mitochondria to extract energy from the food we eat. The work of Kaelin, Ratcliffe and Semenza revealed the elegant mechanisms by which our cells sense oxygen levels and respond to fluctuations, enhancing the delivery of oxygen to the tissues of the body and altering our metabolism,” he said.

“Since the first reports of the hypoxia inducible factors appeared in the early 1990s, we have come to realise the vital role they play in our everyday physiology, in allowing humans to live at high altitude and in countless biomedical scenarios. Hypoxia (a low tissue oxygen content) is a feature of many diseases including heart failure, chronic lung disease and many cancers. The work of these three scientists and their teams has paved the way to a greater understanding of these common, life-threatening conditions and new strategies to treat them.”

block-time updated-timeUpdated at 11.51am BST

block-time published-time 11.46am BST

Some have noted that, once again, all the winners are male. Only 12 women have been awarded the prize since the awards began. The last woman to win the award was Tu Youyou in 2015.

block-time published-time 11.43am BST

Sir Peter Ratcliffe appears to be taking the win in his stride.

enltr“Grant proposal deadlines wait for no-one!"

Sir Peter Ratcliffe sitting at his desk working on his EU Synergy Grant application, after learning he had been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Photographer: Catherine King pic.twitter.com/np0ty6SLi9[https://t.co/np0ty6SLi9]

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 7, 2019[https://twitter.com/NobelPrize/status/1181145476420325376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw]

block-time published-time 11.41am BST

My colleague Ian Sample previously covered the 2016 Lasker prize: here is his piece on Ratcliffe’s work on how cells adapt to changes in oxygen levels. As Ian notes “The discovery has already led to a raft of experimental anaemia drugs that trick the body into thinking it is at high altitude, causing it to churn out more red blood cells.”

Related: Oxford biologist Sir Peter Ratcliffe wins Lasker research award[https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/sep/13/oxford-biologist-sir-peter-ratcliffe-wins-lasker-research-award]

block-time published-time 11.36am BST

The Crick is rather happy...

enltrWe're delighted that our Director of Clinical Research, Peter Ratcliffe, has won the @NobelPrize[https://twitter.com/NobelPrize?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw] in Physiology or Medicine! Congratulations to Peter, @DanaFarber[https://twitter.com/DanaFarber?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw] ’s William Kaelin and @JohnsHopkins[https://twitter.com/JohnsHopkins?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw] ’ Gregg Semenza! https://t.co/0XQIEmWHmQ[https://t.co/0XQIEmWHmQ]

— The Crick (@TheCrick) October 7, 2019[https://twitter.com/TheCrick/status/1181148463624572928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw]

block-time published-time 11.30am BST

On winning the Lasker award for his work that has today been celebrated with a Nobel prize, William Kaelin noted the papers behind the discovery were published more than a decade ago. “Most would be considered quaint, preliminary and barely publishable today,” he wrote[https://www.nature.com/news/publish-houses-of-brick-not-mansions-of-straw-1.22029]. “One — showing that a tumour-suppressor protein was required for oxygen signalling — would today be criticized for failing to include a clear mechanism and animal experiments.”

block-time updated-timeUpdated at 11.35am BST

block-time published-time 11.24am BST

Today’s win was perhaps not such a huge surprise – in 2016 the trio won the Albert Lasker award for basic medical research. The Lasker awards are sometimes referred to as America’s Nobels, and previous winners often go on to win the Nobel itself.

block-time updated-timeUpdated at 11.28am BST

block-time published-time 11.20am BST

The impact of the discovery celebrated by this year’s award is wide-ranging, with the body’s response to changing oxygen levels implicated in everything from exercise to foetal development.

It’s also involved in a number of diseases – patients with chronic renal failure produce less EPO, and as a result often suffer from severe anaemia.

In cancer, tumours use the oxygen-regulated system to trigger the development of new blood vessels – an area that is being investigated for new ways to tackle the disease.

block-time updated-timeUpdated at 11.21am BST

block-time published-time 11.07am BST

This year’s prize is a true physiology award. At its heart is the body’s response to low oxygen conditions. When the body is deprived of oxygen, there is a rise in the hormone erythropoietin (EPO) – this then boosts the production of red blood cells, which carry oxygen around the body.

But how does a drop in oxygen trigger this response? This year’s laureates found the answer.

They found that when oxygen levels drop, levels of a protein complex (dubbed HIF) increase. Under normal oxygen conditions, HIF is rapidly broken down - but under low oxygen conditions it builds up. Crucially this complex binds to segments of DNA near the gene for EPO, regulating the expression of the gene and hence levels of EPO.

The researchers also unpicked how HIF is modified under normal conditions so that it is rapidly broken down inside cells, revealing the key role of oxygen-sensitive enzymes.

block-time updated-timeUpdated at 11.13am BST

block-time published-time 10.56am BST

Want to know how to win a Nobel prize? Here is a top tip from the lab of William Kaelin, one of this year’s laureates

enltrBill out here dropping dimes ???? pic.twitter.com/EpgbojeggE[https://t.co/EpgbojeggE]

— KaelinLab (@kaelin_lab) September 19, 2019[https://twitter.com/kaelin_lab/status/1174477958922330112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw]

block-time updated-timeUpdated at 11.06am BST

block-time published-time 10.50am BST

According to the committee, the mechanism by which cells adapt to oxygen levels is a key reason animals have managed to colonise so many habitats, as it means they can cope with living at different altitudes.

block-time updated-timeUpdated at 10.55am BST

block-time published-time 10.46am BST

The committee are now taking questions. Apparently all three laureates were contacted by phone, but they didn’t have a phone number for Kaelin so they had to wake up his sister by phone to get hold of it.

block-time updated-timeUpdated at 11.06am BST

block-time published-time 10.43am BST

The impact of work on how cells adapt to oxygen levels is relevant to everything from pregnancy to altitude sickness to cancer and wound healing.

block-time published-time 10.40am BST

The committee say that while it has long been known that oxygen is essential to sustain life, the molecular mechanisms that underpin how exactly cells adapt when oxygen supply drops or rises was something of a mystery. Until this year’s laureates set to work. They have unpicked how the activity of genes is regulated in response to varying levels of oxygen.

block-time updated-timeUpdated at 11.06am BST

block-time published-time 10.35am BST

There we have it: this year’s award is split three ways between researchers who have delved into how cells sense oxygen availability and adapt in response to that. Sir Peter Ratcliffe is based at the Francis Crick Institute in London. Kaelin and Semenza are based at Harvard University and Johns Hopkins University respectively.

block-time updated-timeUpdated at 10.36am BST

block-time published-time 10.33am BST

And the winners are....

enltrBREAKING NEWS:

The 2019 #NobelPrize[https://twitter.com/hashtag/NobelPrize?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw] in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded jointly to William G. Kaelin Jr, Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza “for their discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability.” pic.twitter.com/6m2LJclOoL[https://t.co/6m2LJclOoL]

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 7, 2019[https://twitter.com/NobelPrize/status/1181140315635376128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw]

block-time published-time 10.32am BST

And here they are, the committee members have arrived …

block-time updated-timeUpdated at 11.07am BST

block-time published-time 10.31am BST

I’m really regretting having a huge mug of coffee this morning. This is not the moment for a break...

block-time published-time 10.28am BST

The fog lifts. Journalists are rustling papers. Hush descends... Any minute now the committee members will walk in and spill the beans on this year’s winners.

block-time published-time 10.25am BST

As usual the committee has shared an awkward photograph of an official grinning happily while dialling the winners. But if past calls are anything to go by they are more likely to be met – at least at first – with doubt and suspicion than gasps of joy from the unsuspecting recipient.

After a few moments of confusion, the Swedish accent and repeated assurances presumably turns the dream into a reality.

However, not all calls go smoothly.

Physiology or medicine laureate May-Britt Moser said she initially didn’t want to take the call when she was phoned in 2014, as she didn’t recognise the number and was busy. Meanwhile the 2013 literature laureate, Alice Munro, didn’t pick up – and the committee were left talking to her voicemail, and 2010 chemistry laureate Martin Chalfie slept on as his phone rang, missing the call.

enltrSomeone is receiving exciting news from Thomas Perlmann, the Secretary of the Nobel Committee.

Find out who! We’ll be breaking the news right here very soon. #NobelPrize[https://twitter.com/hashtag/NobelPrize?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw]

Photo: Yanan Li pic.twitter.com/xAc0Qh5v04[https://t.co/xAc0Qh5v04]

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 7, 2019[https://twitter.com/NobelPrize/status/1181122845721743361?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw]

block-time published-time 10.25am BST

For those who like to see the glint of excitement in the committee members’ eyes, you can follow the live video feed of the event here. At the moment it has a foggy filter, presumably to evoke the idea that the winners are currently shrouded in mystery.

block-time published-time 10.20am BST

What’s the point of the Nobel prizes? Good question. Fortunately my colleagues Ian Sample and Hannah Devlin have delved into the issue for you, looking at cases of misjudged awards, what actually happens at the ceremony, and whether the awards have a diversity problem: as the team point out, more men called John have won Nobels than have Africans.

Why not take a look while we are waiting for today’s event to kick off.

Related: What's the point of Nobel prizes?[https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/oct/07/whats-the-point-of-nobel-prizes]

block-time updated-timeUpdated at 10.28am BST

block-time published-time 10.17am BST

Each Nobel prize is set at nine million Swedish kronor – that’s about £750,000. If there’s more than one winner, they have to split the cash. But the prestige is priceless. And that’s to say nothing of other perks: at the University of California, Berkeley, laureates get their own reserved car parking spaces.

block-time updated-timeUpdated at 10.54am BST

block-time published-time 10.15am BST

My colleague Ian Sample hit a home run last year with his prediction that Allison would be a winner, which more or less exhausts our team’s luck for backing the right horse for the rest of the century. But there are no shortage of contenders for this year’s prize.

Among them are the scientists behind the gene-editing technique known as Crispr – although this has also been tipped for the chemistry prize.

If Crispr does win, it is a knotty issue as to which of the four key scientists involved in its development would be honoured. Even if the maximum number of awards were given, one of Emmanuelle Charpentier, Jennifer Doudna, George Church and Fang Zheng will be left empty handed.

Another multi-player possibility is optogenetics – a technique which, among other applications, allows researchers to turn neurons on or off using light. Again, it is not obvious who would receive the award as so many have been instrumental in its development. There is also the possibility this could win the chemistry prize.

And what about research into the microbiome – that collection of bacteria, viruses, fungi and more that live on and in our bodies, and have been found to play an important role in our health? Among pioneering the researchers in this area is Jeffrey Gordon at Washington University in St Louis.

Other possibilities include the researchers behind the discovery that particular genes, known as BRCA1 and BRCA2 increase the risk of breast cancer – a finding that became headline news when Angelina Jolie revealed she underwent a double mastectomy after genetic testing showed that she carried the BRCA1 gene. Mary-Claire King at the University of Washington and Mark Skolnick at the University of Utah are among the researchers who pioneered this work.

But it seems less likely that the prize would go to cancer research two years in a row.

What is becoming increasingly clear is the clear-cut divisions of chemistry, physics and physiology or medicine, have become blurred as techniques and understandings from one discipline are harnessed for another and new approaches and fields of research blossom.

block-time published-time 10.10am BST

Since it was first established in 1901, the Nobel prize in physiology or medicine has been awarded 109 times to 216 scientists.

Last year’s winners were James P Allison and Tasuku Honjo, who shared the prize for their work on cancer treatments which involve harnessing the body’s immune system.

You can read more about their work in this piece[https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/oct/01/james-p-allison-and-tasuku-honjo-win-nobel-prize-for-medicine] by my colleague Hannah Devlin:

block-time published-time 2.27pm BST

Welcome to the live blog for the 2019 Nobel prize for medicine

Another October, another collection of Nobel prizes. And as always, first up is the award in physiology or medicine. Somewhere around the world a phone is about the ring to tell a researcher that they have scooped the ultimate gong – and within the hour they will be headline news, fielding calls from journalists.

The event today is being live-streamed from the Nobel assembly at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and I’ll be here to share the build-up, winners and reaction with you.

Today’s announcement is due no earlier than 10.30am UK time. But stay tuned for updates on the hot favourites, facts and figures, and a spot of history.

The physics prize will be announced tomorrow and the chemistry prize on Wednesday, both from 10.45am UK time. Join us for live coverage of those as well!

block-time updated-timeUpdated at 10.08am BST

2019-10-07T09:05:23Z 2019-10-07T11:36:38Z https://media.guim.co.uk/0d9bddc64b214b94d1da41d710922a12b0e2a148/0_188_4736_2841/500.jpg[https://media.guim.co.uk/0d9bddc64b214b94d1da41d710922a12b0e2a148/0_188_4736_2841/500.jpg]

1 WHAT IS THE PLAN?

According to billionaire Bill Gates, probiotic pills could hold the key to ending malnutrition across the globe within the next two decades.

Many view these so called "functional foods" as a gimmick but Gates, who gave the annual Hawking Fellowship Lecture at the Cambridge University Union on Sunday, believes the science that underpins them could save millions of lives. As well as probiotic pills, Gates highlights the use of microbiota-directed complementary foods. "That is going to not only help prevent malnutrition and obesity, but lots of other diseases - like asthma, allergies, and some autoimmune diseases, which may be triggered by an unbalanced microbiome," he adds.

2 WHAT ARE PROBIOTICS?

Probiotics, or "good" bacteria, are thought to help maintain a healthy gut and are commonly added to foods such as yogurt.

"In the future, we'll be able to create next-generation probiotic pills that contain ideal combinations of bacteria - even ones that are tailored to your specific gut," says the Microsoft founder turned philanthropist.

3 HOW BIG AN ISSUE IS MALNUTRITION?

Malnutrition remains a much bigger global health threat than often realized as it is no longer always visible. A lack of nutrients in early life is responsible for the mental and physical "stunting" of an estimated 155 million children globally. These children may not appear physically different - some may be overweight - but suffer from irreversible developmental problems. Gates says if he could only work to solve one problem it would be malnutrition. "It's the greatest health inequity in the world - but thanks to new scientific breakthroughs, I believe we will find a way to solve it within 20 years," he says.

4 WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?

Gates argues that better scientific understanding of the human microbiome - specifically the microorganisms that inhabit the gut - will enable the development of "smartly engineered" probiotic pills to enable us to retain more nutrients from what we eat. According to Gates, 63, research into the human microbiome will provide the "basic insights" to help experts "figure nutrition out" - improving the health of millions in the process. "Over the next 10 to 20 years, we're going to learn more about each individual microbial species," he says.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

What spices should I have in my pantry?

How do I fix an oversalted dish?

Should I be eating grass-fed beef?

How do I buy and grill fish?

I’ve heard vegetables can carry E. coli. How do I safely prepare them?

How do I chop an onion without crying?

What is the proper way to prepare asparagus?

How do I cook with eggplant?

How do I make the perfect summer salad?

How do I reduce the sugar in my cooking?

What do I need to know about baking with chocolate?

What’s the best yogurt to cook or bake with?

How do I use honey in cooking and baking?

How long do those spices at the back of your cupboard last? What’s that white bloom on chocolate? Can you cut some sugar from a recipe without sacrificing quality?

Lucy Waverman answers all this and more in this guide to essential ingredients for cooking and baking.

If you need some advice about kitchen life and entertaining, send it by e-mail[mailto:lwaverman@globeandmail.com] . And look out for more Globe and Mail guides to kitchen life.

How to excel at entertaining: All your hosting questions answered[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/article-great-entertaining-all-your-hosting-questions-answered/] Read more e-books and guides from The Globe and Mail[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/member-benefits/ebooks-guides/]

What spices should I have in my pantry?

The backbone of many of modern recipes – and the key to culinary success – is the use of spicing, some of which might be new to you. But how do we change our spice cupboards to keep up with our evolving tastes? First, throw out all ground spices that are more than nine months old. They lose their pungency. Instead, buy spices in small amounts and repurchase as needed. Whole spices last about a year.

Light and heat can destroy spices. Rather than glass jars, I buy and label little tin containers and store them in a cupboard, out of the light and away from the stove. If you buy glass jars decant them into containers.

Look for quality products – there are differences in taste. To buy spices in small quantities, go to spice shops such as the Spice Trader in Toronto, or Indian or Middle Eastern stores in your city.

Whole spices are always better quality, so invest in a spice grinder, or pull out the coffee mill you haven’t used since you switched to pods. In desperation, grate whole spices on a microplane.

The following 25 spices, with a few herbs thrown in, will see you through most recipes and enable you to cook up a variety of cuisines.

* Allspice – buy whole.

* Bay leaves.

* Black peppercorns, preferably Tellicherry or Sarawak. Never buy ground pepper – it loses its pungency as soon as it is ground. If you are a purist, use white pepper on white dishes.

* Cardamom – ground is fine unless you are doing a lot of Indian cooking, in which case buy whole.

* Cayenne, for that blast of heat.

* Chili powder. I like ancho, which is pure. Many chili powders include cumin and other spices for making chili.

* Cinnamon, both sticks and ground.

* Cloves, whole.

* Cumin – I usually buy both whole and ground.

* Coriander, both ground and whole. It is good when pickling.

* Dried chilies. There is a vast selection so think about your cooking. If you are into Mexican, buy some anchos and chipotles; for Indian, buy the more subtle Kashmiris or the very hot dried bird’s eye.

* Garam masala. Better than curry powder, which varies considerably by brand. It is usually not as hot and has several levels of flavour.

* Ginger. Ground ginger is a staple in Middle Eastern cooking.

* Mustard seeds, whole for pickling and for curries.

* Nutmeg, whole.

* Paprika, Spanish smoked, both hot and sweet, and Hungarian as the regular choice.

* Saffron. Buy only the threads and look for country of origin. Spanish is best, but there are all kinds of others.

* Star anise, whole.

* Sumac, for Middle Eastern cooking.

* Turmeric, the anti-inflammatory spice. It also colours everything yellow, including your hands and clothes.

* Zatar, for Middle Eastern cooking. It is a spice blend that includes thyme, sumac, sesame seeds and salt. A sprinkle improves flavour in many dishes.

There are dried herbs to include but only use in the winter when fresh are not available, and buy only whole leaves, not ground.

* Tarragon (it loses its flavour very quickly).

* Thyme.

* Rosemary.

* Oregano.

A properly equipped spice cupboard is an investment, but it will pay off with better flavours.

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How do I fix an oversalted dish?

Salt, judiciously used, is the saviour of dull dishes. It brings out the flavour in everything – but there can easily be too much of a good thing.

Unless you’re baking, never add the amount of salt stated in a recipe. Differences in the type of salt used, the size of the pot and the level of heat all change the rate of evaporation and the amount of salt required. Instead, add a good pinch at the start of cooking and taste later, adding more salt only if needed.

If you did not heed my excellent advice, however, and your dish is too salty, here are some fixes. For soups and stews, double up the vegetables and recook. Add a good slug of whipping cream if it is a puréed soup.

Saltiness can be balanced by sweet, sour and heat, so add some sugar, a bit of vinegar or a little chili. Dilution is a good bet, too: Add more stock, more vegetables, more thickener – they will all tone down the saltiness. But never dilute gravies, soups or stocks with water. Instead, add stock or something with taste. Passata (tomato purée) works in dishes where tomatoes can be incorporated.

If a gravy is a bit salty, mix equal amounts of butter and flour into a soft mass and whisk it into the gravy a bit at a time. It will thicken and desalt. If you have oversalted a roast chicken, remove the skin and the salt will disappear with it. For roasts, slice off the salty outside. The salt will not penetrate very far. Drain and rinse canned beans to remove some of the salt.

When salting, use a larger flake kosher salt and sprinkle it on with your fingers. This guards against adding too much. As you’re cooking, taste and add salt as needed.

Is your dish still lacklustre? Grated lemon or lime zest, a hint of chili or a blast of pepper, fish sauce, soy sauce or balsamic vinegar – all will help with the blahs.

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Should I be eating grass-fed beef?

One day I was at a high-end grocery store trying to buy grass-fed beef. The butcher informed me that they had stopped selling it because there was no market for it. I was shocked. Grass-fed beef is considered healthier, tastier and is arguably better for the environment.

Dr. David Acton, a radiologist in the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia, raises grass-fed beef cattle. “The animals are ethically raised, and it is an environmentally friendly agriculture,” he says, arguing that stress-free animals produce better meat. “They eat grasses of different kinds that grow in the fields, so they have a more varied diet. Cows are not designed to eat corn or barley.”

The beef itself has about one-third less saturated fat (and lower cholesterol) than regular feedlot beef and is lower in calories. Dr. Acton says it has beneficial omega-6 and omega-3 levels and has high levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a naturally occurring fatty acid that has been associated with reduced inflammation and may have anti-tumour effects. Several studies, including one from Consumer Reports, also say that grass-fed beef has a lower incidence of e. coli, making it my choice for beef tartare and rare burgers.

In a blind taste test we ran recently in the test kitchen, everyone preferred the meaty taste of grass-fed beef over regular beef from the high-end grocery store. When told it may also be healthier, the testers were really pleased.

So why are people not eating more of it? It is harder to find than regular beef and it can be pricey. However, in Toronto, Loblaws carries grass-fed beef from Beretta Farms sourced in Australia. And look for it in the city’s smaller meat shops, such as the Healthy Butcher and Sanagans. Across the country, you can find grass-fed beef at local farmers’ markets. Online, Eatwild.com[http://eatwild.com/] is a great online source for finding grass-fed beef locations in various cities, and numerous outlets will ship to you.

As for the environmental effects, the jury is still out. I choose to believe that huge feedlots seem to raise stressed animals and are often dirty and muddy with no room for proper exercise. Grass-fed cows stroll over the pastures eating what they need. Methane gas emissions, huge tracts of land for raising the animals, and biodiversity are all good arguments not to eat meat, but for those of us who continue to do so, grass-fed beef gets my vote.

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How do I buy and grill fish?

First and foremost, know your fishmonger. If you trust the store where you purchase fish, you should never have to worry about freshness. However, here are some tips to tell whether whole fish is fresh.

It should have a clear eye. A cloudy or sunken eye means the fish is past its best-before date. If you press the fish with your finger, the flesh should jump back. If it feels spongy, sideline it. The underside of the gills should be bright red or pink. If brownish, the fish has been out of the water for too long. Fish should always smell fresh. It should never have a fishy odour and it should glisten as though it is just out of the water. It is harder to tell the freshness of fish fillets, but they should be translucent, firm to the touch and have no odour.

To store, remove any plastic packaging and place the fish in a dish, covered with a paper towel. Place it at the back of your refrigerator, which is colder, and keep for no more than two days. If you need to preserve the fish for longer, rub it with yogurt or soy sauce – it will last another day.

When it comes to grilling fish, it’s preferable to use either whole fish with the bone or thick fillets, such as salmon, halibut or sea bass. Thin fillets dry out, burn easily and are next to impossible to get off the grill.

Preheat the grill to high, making sure it’s super clean to prevent the fish from sticking. Always grill fish with the lid down, and don’t wrap it in foil, because it will steam, robbing it of any grilled taste.

An oiled grilling basket is a godsend because it allows you to easily turn the fish. If you don’t have one, fill a spray bottle with oil and spray both the grill and the fish.

For whole fish, make a few slashes in the skin to keep the fish from curling up. Grill, turning once with two wide spatulas, until the eye turns white and the flesh near the bone is slightly pink. I like to douse fish with a little extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice and lots of herbs before serving. Some chefs place vegetables, such as fennel or even lemon slices, under whole fish to prevent sticking. These make an attractive garnish as well.

Fillets should go flesh side down until they are browned and turn easily, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and grill on the skin side until the fish is opaque. If the fish sticks, give it another minute. It will release when it is ready. Fish fillets and whole fish cook in about 8 minutes per inch of thickness, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the centre of the flesh reaches 125 F for slightly rare in the middle. If you want to fully cook, the temperature should reach 145 F, but because it continues to cook after leaving the grill, beware of ending up with an overcooked fish.

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I’ve heard vegetables can carry E. coli. How do I safely prepare them?

E. coli is a type of bacteria that will not harm us most of the time. But some strains can make us sick and, on occasion, even be fatal.

We cannot see it or taste it. It can survive for weeks on surfaces and in compost heaps, and is found in contaminated seeds, irrigation water and in manure used to fertilize crops.

Here is what to do to best avoid getting sick. There is no 100-per-cent way to guard against this hardy organism, but these precautions will help.

Personal hygiene should be a priority. Wash your hands after using the toilet, changing a baby’s diaper, picking up dog poop. Wash your hands in warm soapy water before you start preparing food.

Store meat and vegetables separately, and as E. coli is often found in raw meat and poultry (it gets killed by the heat of cooking), keep a dedicated chopping board for them. I use plastic, which I then scrub and occasionally bleach before putting it away. Make sure your knife is clean and has not touched any meat before you cut vegetables.

Clean your lettuce and wash your vegetables as soon as you bring them home to prevent any cross-contamination. For lettuce, remove the base where dirt may hide and wash each leaf separately to remove any dirt, which is a carrier of E. coli. I find warm water is best for dislodging dirt, but use cool if there is no dirt visible to the eye. Use a salad spinner to remove as much water as you can, wrap the leaves in paper towels and store in a plastic resealable bag. This gives you pristine, washed leaves for salad all week.

Rewash all vegetables – even prewashed packaged greens – before using, especially if you are making a raw vegetable salad. Wash all fruits, too.

Some bacteria in our gut is a good thing; after all, what are probiotics for? But if you follow the rules of personal and kitchen hygiene, you will lower the risk of E. coli contamination.

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How do I chop an onion without crying?

Ever cried while cutting an onion? Put away your goggles, matches, candles, water baths and eye drops. The solution is a sharp chef’s knife. A sharp knife cuts through the onion cleanly, so none of its sulphuric, eye-watering liquid is expelled. Most of the sulphur is in the root end, so it also helps to stop chopping about a centimetre from the root.

A good chef’s knife, one that holds its edge, is an investment that will last you a lifetime. I still have the excellent carbon-steel knife that is more than 100 years old that my grandmother used in her restaurant.

Used for chopping, dicing, mincing, slicing and even carving, a straight-edged chef’s knife is one of the most efficient tools in your kitchen. But it must be sharp; a dull blade will bruise or mash the food, instead of giving you the clean cut you want.

When buying a chef’s knife, it’s important to hold the one in which you are interested; essentially shake hands with it. Does it feel comfortable in your hand? Don’t point your finger down the knife’s spine. That unbalances it, and balance is everything in cutting. European brands are my preference.

When you find one that is comfortable (an eight- to 10-inch blade is your best bet), you’ll need a steel to keep it honed.

Hold the steel horizontally, with your knife at a 45-degree angle. Run the blade down the length of the steel, going from shaft to point, and repeat about six times on each side.

Store your knife where it won’t get banged around: A magnetic rack or a knife block is your best bet.

Don’t use a carborundum, or silicon-carbide stone, which is very coarse. Although it gives a good edge, it wears your knife down and you want to be able to bequeath it to your grandchildren. Use a steel or have your knives professionally sharpened. Check Google for people in your area.

Armed with a properly sharpened knife, you can say goodbye to tears while cutting onions.

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What is the proper way to prepare asparagus?

Asparagus is one of the most delightful treats when it comes from a short distance away in the spring. It has an earthy, bright taste and a succulence that is hard to beat in a vegetable.

The veg comes in three colours, and will be either thick or thin. Green is the most prolific, white is the same species but grown under mounds of earth so that it never sees the sun, and purple is a cultivar originally grown in Italy. Purple is sweeter than green. For a pure taste experience thick stalks are superior but must be peeled, a chore many people avoid. But it is easy. Snap off the end of the stem as it is woody, and use a potato peeler to remove the tough outer skin. It will taste like a different vegetable. Thin stalks do not need to be peeled, but they are not as tasty. Nutritionally, asparagus provides fibre, folate and other nutrients to support heart health and it’s rich in anti-oxidants.

Store asparagus by snapping off the ends and placing in a container of water up to the tips. It will keep fresh for days.

To cook green asparagus, briefly boil in salted water, or steam. It should be served al dente. White asparagus needs a little sugar in the boiling water to prevent it from being too bitter, while the purple variety needs very brief cooking, best sautéed, to keep its colour – further cooking will turn it green again.

Asparagus roasts and grills well, but only do so with fat spears. Roast at 425 F for about 10 minutes depending on the size of the spear, or grill spears for about 10 minutes, rolling over occasionally.

When cooking with thin spears, toss them into boiling water and as soon as the water comes back to the boil, drain, then splash with cold water to stop the cooking and prevent them becoming limp. They are best for salads. If serving cold, leave in ice water until completely cooled.

Asparagus pairs wonderfully with hollandaise, butter, citrus, parmesan, olive oil, tarragon, chives, parsley, shallots, brown butter, eggs, capers, ginger, soy.

One of my favourite cooking methods is stir-frying. I do not peel the stalks but slice the asparagus in two-inch pieces on the diagonal. Heat oil in a wok, flavour with ginger or garlic or both and toss in the spears. Stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until al dente. Stir in some soy sauce and a touch of butter for the perfect side dish. Alternatively, brown some butter and cook the asparagus the same way. Finish with lemon juice.

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How do I cook with eggplant?

Eggplant is one of the most versatile vegetables around. Its mild taste and texture allow it to absorb the flavour of the herbs and spices cooked along with it.

My mother, who used to try to disguise food we hated, cut eggplant into French fry shapes, deep fried them, sprinkled on salt and vinegar and told us they were chips. The trick worked: We loved them then and still do.

Although most think of it as a vegetable, eggplant is actually a berry from the nightshade family. It is related to tomatoes, which is why they taste so good cooked together.

It is a rich source of dietary fibre, vitamins C, K and B1, and minerals such as copper, phosphorus and magnesium. The peel is rich in antioxidants, fibre, potassium and magnesium.

Many European and Asian countries consider eggplant a cooking staple. Eggplant parmesan from Italy, moussaka from Greece and Middle Eastern eggplant spreads, loaded with garlic and lemon, are some of the best ways to enjoy this ingredient. In China, eggplant stars in spicy vegetable stir-fries, and eggplant curry is a feature of vegetarian Indian cuisine.

Eggplant comes in a variety of sizes and colours. The white oval eggplants are supposed to be the original of the species, hence the name “egg plant,” although they look rather like ostrich eggs to me. But it’s the deep-hued, oblong, purple ones that are most readily available. Their seeds, however, contain minuscule amounts of nicotine, which creates the bitter taste that some people dislike. To get rid of the bitterness, slice or chop them and sprinkle with salt and let sit for 30 minutes before cooking to allow the bitter juices to seep out, then wipe the slices off. Other varieties do not need this treatment.

Paler purple football-shaped Sicilian eggplants have a custard-like texture and no bitterness. They are wonderful grilled and absorb flavours beautifully. Made into a gratin with some cream, they have a rich taste and texture.

Often used as a substitute for meat because of its texture, taste and health benefits, eggplant can be grilled, baked, sautéed or stuffed with other vegetables (or meat). Recently, I had a vegetarian burger that was one fat slice of garlicky grilled eggplant topped with grilled tomatoes, tahini mixed with mayo and finished with feta cheese. What a treat.

Look for a deep purple colour in regular eggplants, a mauve colour in Sicilian. All eggplant should have a firm texture with a slight springiness when you touch the flesh. If the stem end is brown instead of green, the eggplant is past its prime. Avoid shrivelled or wrinkled-looking eggplants. There is no need to peel eggplant, but if the skin of the common variety seems very thick, slice a few strips off it. Store eggplants in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

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How do I make the perfect summer salad?

Summer is the time of year to buy bunches of lettuce at the markets, not boxed versions, which may come from far away or be sitting on shelves for some time. It is also easy to grow your own in the garden or in window boxes. Remember to cut your lettuce at the base and leave the root so that it will regrow. I find arugula grows like a weed, but I also plant mizuna, tatsoi, various mustards, romaine and cress, which gives me lots of flavour choice.

To make a colourful, flavourful summer salad, use different combinations of lettuce and other ingredients, and add a dressing that enhances but does not drown the greens.

Greens should be gently rinsed in cool water to dislodge the dirt, then put in a salad spinner – a must in any kitchen – to dry them. I pop the dried lettuce into a plastic bag, placing some paper towel at the base and another in the middle. This helps keep the lettuce crisp. I wash enough for two or three salads at a time and refrigerate until ready to use.

For green salads, a light dressing is best. I like to squeeze on a few drops of lemon juice, drizzle on some good extra virgin olive oil and then dust the greens with kosher salt. If it scares you to go freehand, the ratio is usually three parts oil to one part citrus or vinegar.

If you prefer more of a proper salad dressing, make your own. They keep refrigerated for a few weeks, and will be healthier and cheaper than store-bought versions. This easy base can have other ingredients added to it, such as garlic, herbs, shallots, maple syrup or mashed avocado.

Whisk together one tablespoon Dijon mustard, which helps emulsify the dressing, three tablespoons wine vinegar or any other acid you prefer, ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil and salt to taste. I add pepper just before tossing the salad. If your dressing is too oily, add salt; it will help to eliminate the oily taste.

This vinaigrette can be made ahead and stored in a screw-top jar. Shake just before using to re-emulsify. It will firm up in the refrigerator, so take it out 30 minutes before you need it. But don’t add too much – salads will lose their freshness and become wilted if overdressed. Use about three tablespoons dressing for six cups of lettuce. And remember that although salads are usually low calorie, salad dressings are not.

To make your salad ahead of time, add the dressing to the bottom of the bowl and put the salad ingredients on top. Toss together just before serving.

Simple salads are lovely when the ingredients are perfect, but try these enhancements to add extra flavour, texture and colour:

* Garlic.

* Ginger.

* Herbs (especially tarragon, my favourite).

* Cooked beans and grains.

* Cooked or raw vegetables.

* Finely sliced red or green onion.

* Cheeses.

* Toasted grains, nuts or seeds for crunch.

* Toss a protein on top, such as cooked salmon, chicken, shrimp, tofu or cured meat, and your salad can be a meal.

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How do I reduce the sugar in my cooking?

I am not a sweets person. I don’t like sugary desserts or high-sugar baking, but I know that people like their treats, and so I have developed some techniques for cutting sugar in both baking and cooking. You’ll find it’s surprisingly easy to reduce this particular ingredient with minimal impact on the end product. (I am not a dietitian, however, so if you have diabetes or other diseases related to sugar, consult a doctor.)

I never add sugar to pastry; the filling usually has enough. In any cake recipe, you can cut the sugar by one third without altering the texture. It will be slightly less sweet, and because sugar aids in browning, it may be a little pale. I serve it as is, but if the aesthetic bothers you, cover your cake with fruit.

Bananas, which are high in sugar, can also be used as a sweetener. Let them get very soft, and then substitute an equal amount of mashed banana for up to half the sugar by volume but not more than 1 cup, in a recipe.

Puréed dates or dried figs in baking, or stirred into a sauce, also add sweetness; the calories may be similar but the fruit is healthier and adds some fibre, too. Purée soaked fruit with a little of the soaking water to incorporate more easily. This is especially good in muffins as long as you cut the sugar way down.

In cooking, I omit sugar in most recipes or add just a pinch if it really needs it. Thai food, for example, can have a lot of added sugar, but when I was travelling and dining in Thailand, I did not have the same kind of sweet food I often have here at home, so I make Thai dishes with much less sugar than recipes call for.

Other sweetening options to consider: Coconut sugar has had a mixed reception. Studies done in the Philippines, the main exporter of coconut sugar, show it is lower on the glycemic index than table sugar, but it was a tiny study. Honey, maple syrup and molasses contain similar calorie counts to sugar but their process is more natural.

Some don’ts:

* Do not use high-fructose corn syrup. Maple syrup is a more natural option.

* I don’t use artificial sweeteners or stevia, which is a processed product. They are considered safe in moderation, so it is a personal choice. However, I have never successfully baked with them, and sweeteners leave an aftertaste to me.

* Don’t eat processed foods, which often contain added sugars and/or high-fructose corn syrup. After all, sugar is addictive.

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What do I need to know about baking with chocolate?

When baking, it is important to use the best, which would be the same chocolate you love to eat. Today, chocolate is as fancy as wine. You can choose the country of origin, the estates you like best, the percentage of chocolate liquor. But that’s for the truly obsessed. Here is a simple chocolate primer for the rest of us.

Chocolate is made from cocoa beans that have been roasted and processed. The resulting mixture is ground and heated into a thick paste called chocolate liquor, which contains roughly equal amounts of cocoa solids (or cocoa mass) and creamy cocoa butter, the “fat” that gives that luxurious mouth feel. This mixture is the basis of unsweetened chocolate. When additional cocoa butter, sugar or milk is added, the chocolate liquor turns into bittersweet or milk chocolate. I find unsweetened chocolate too bitter, but it is sometimes used in Mexican sauces to add a richness and a deeper colour.

Most chocolate has the percentage of cocoa mass listed on the package. The higher the percentage, the darker and more bitter the chocolate. It is not a perfect rule, however. The best way to discover the chocolate you love is to try several different brands. I prefer a 64 per cent to 70 per cent ratio – bittersweet chocolate – for the best baking and eating. The remaining ingredients are sugar, lecithin and vanilla. Cacao Barry is an excellent brand (available at specialty stores and on Amazon), as is Callebaut, which is often sold in bulk. President’s Choice makes a good organic 70 per cent chocolate.

Milk chocolate, which is primarily for eating, contains milk solids and should not be used in baking unless the recipe specifies. White chocolate, a mixture of sugar, vanilla, cocoa butter and milk solids, is technically not chocolate because it does not contain chocolate liquor.

Here are a few tips for working with chocolate:

* Melt chopped chocolate in a heavy pot on the lowest heat. Double boilers can be problematic as even the smallest drop of water can cause the chocolate to seize or stiffen. Once this happens, there is no cure, although beating in a little vegetable shortening will allow the chocolate to be mixed with other ingredients.

* Cut chocolate with a serrated knife; the edges grip the chocolate and make it easier to cut. Shave chocolate with a vegetable peeler.

* Store well-wrapped chocolate in a cool place, not in the refrigerator. Moisture causes “bloom,” a white surface on the chocolate: It doesn’t change the taste, but it looks unattractive.

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What’s the best yogurt to cook or bake with?

Yogurt, packed with protein, probiotics and calcium, is a nutritious food, and there is some evidence that it may boost the immune system and help digestion. However, at the supermarket, I see a dizzying array of products: low-fat, no-fat, Greek, Skyr, labneh. What to buy?

Yogurt is simply milk that has been fermented using a bacterial culture, giving it that familiar sour taste. But not all are created equal. Full-fat plain yogurt has a thinner texture because not all the whey has been removed. It is best for salad dressings, marinades and baking.

Skyr is a soft Icelandic cheese, made with rennet, that has the taste and texture of yogurt. Icelanders have eaten skyr since the Middle Ages and often credit it with their good health. It is strained four times to get its thick, rich consistency, and is mostly made with skim milk, making it fat-free. Skyr is made like a traditional Greek yogurt, but it is by far the creamiest, best-tasting, no-fat, preservative-free option. It is less tart than the Greek version, too. I mix it with fruit, use it to add creaminess to soups and make dips with it. Do not, however, use it in baking; it changes the texture of scones and cakes.

Greek yogurt has had much of the whey removed so it is creamy and thick. It is higher in protein and has less sugar than regular yogurt, which may account for its popularity. It is available with different fat percentages and is often fruit flavoured. It’s healthiest to flavour plain Greek yogurt or Skyr yourself because many of the store-bought fruit-filled options contain additives and sweeteners. Read the labels before buying.

Labneh, made by straining yogurt, is sometimes called yogurt cheese because of its thickness. It is found in many Middle Eastern dishes and dips. To make your own, add about ½ teaspoon of salt to a carton of full-fat Greek yogurt. Place it in cheesecloth and let it drip over a bowl overnight. Not quite authentic, but a good substitute. It is very thick and can be substituted for a soft cream cheese. It is also delicious served Middle Eastern-style, spread on a plate, and sprinkled with zaatar or herbs such as fresh mint or cilantro. Pool a little good-quality extra-virgin olive oil in the centre and serve with warm pita and vegetables.

Yogurt can also be made with sheep’s or goat’s milk, which is helpful for those with lactose intolerance.

When it comes to purchasing and preparing, I never buy low-fat yogurt as it often has additives. I would rather eat less of the high-fat variety and feel more satisfied. This is another benefit of skyr, which is naturally low in fat.

Cooking with yogurt has some rules. Don’t boil it as it will curdle. Beat it into a soup to add extra creaminess, but do not bring back to the boil. Skyr works well for this as it holds together better.

When a cake or biscuit calls for yogurt, use regular – both Greek and Skyr are too thick and will change the texture.

The best substitute for yogurt is sour cream mixed with a few drops of lemon juice. You can also water down plain, regular yogurt to make a decent buttermilk substitute. Whisk about 2 tablespoons of yogurt with ½ cup water for the best texture.

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How do I use honey in cooking and baking?

Honey has been around for thousands of years and was originally used as a sweetener and for its antibacterial properties. It is now considered a mild antiseptic and some people swear by its allergy-attacking properties, saying it can be used to soothe reactions and relieve watering eyes. At one time, honey was fermented into alcoholic mead, which is making a return to our tables today, being produced in both Ontario and British Columbia.

Honey has the same properties as sugar, but it is more suitable in some recipes since it is a liquid. Judiciously using honey in savoury dishes produces a sweet burst of energy, smooths out edges and heightens flavours. Moroccan and Middle Eastern cooking uses honey alongside dried fruits and spices in tagines and long-simmered stews. It also balances flavours in salad dressing, and a little in a glaze will give a succulent look to your meat.

If you heat honey for a recipe, do it very gently on top of the stove as it can caramelize quickly and lose its flavour.

To substitute honey in baking, use ¾ cup honey for every 1 cup sugar. Cut back the liquid by 2 tablespoons and cook at a temperature 25 degrees lower than specified.

There is a lot of adulterated honey around, usually with the addition of high-fructose corn syrup, so best to check labels – even better, buy local. And don’t refrigerate honey. If it becomes a little granular, heat it slightly. I find a 20-second microwave blast solves the problem.

Honey tastes of the flowers that the bees pollinated. Wildflower, buckwheat, lavender – the flavours are almost endless. Some honey is so local it might be named after your neighbourhood. Urban beekeeping company Alveole has boxed sets of four Toronto honeys with flavours ranging from Rosedale to the Junction, for instance.

There is, however, a sadder side to this sweet stuff, as honey bees are being killed off by insecticides. If we lose the pollinators, we lose vegetables and flowers. Canada has banned the worst insecticides, but it will be three to five years before they are completely phased out.

Because beekeeping has made such a comeback, there are hives all over Toronto and in other major cities. CBC’s Toronto headquarters, the Fairmont Royal York hotel and many rooftops and balconies are hosting hives – and so can you. Across Canada, there are organizations that are making it attractive to help produce local honey. You can adopt a hive, share a hive or help those doing it already by buying honey at local markets. Get in touch with, among other companies, Alveole[https://www.alveole.buzz/] in Ontario and Quebec for more information, and EastVan Bees[https://www.eastvanbees.com/] on the West Coast.

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Follow this link to view this story on globeandmail.com: The essential guide to understanding the ingredients in your kitchen[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/article-the-essential-guide-to-understanding-the-ingredients-in-your-kitchen/] The viewing of this article is only available to Globe Unlimited subscribers.

The Globe and Mail

Study finds new treatment for BV, which affects up to a third of reproductive-age women

Transplanting vaginal fluids from one woman to another could help tackle severe cases of a common bacterial condition, a study has suggested.

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is thought to affect up to a third of women of reproductive age. It is caused when the balance of microbes in the vagina – known as the vaginal microbiome – becomes disturbed, with a drop in lactobacilli while other bacteria take over.

The condition is not generally serious, but it can increase the risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections, and of complications for pregnant women. It can also affect self-esteem; some women develop symptoms such as fishy-smelling discharge.

While BV can often be treated with antibiotics, in some women it recurs just weeks or months later meaning a steady dose of antibiotics might be necessary.

Now a small study has suggested severe BV could be treated by transplanting vaginal fluids from women containing a “healthy” collection of microbes.

Prof Eran Elinav, co-author of the study from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, said the procedure could help address a large unmet need.

“By introducing this new treatment approach, we hope that we may come a step closer to providing an affordable solution for the very many millions of women across the world that suffer with this disorder,” he said.

Writing in the journal Nature Medicine[https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-019-0600-6], Elinav and colleagues report how they carried out the procedure on five women aged between 27 and 47, all of whom had recurring BV and took regular antibiotics for the condition – drugs they stopped taking during the study.

A week before the procedure, each woman was given antibiotic creams to at least partially clear existing bacteria in the vagina.

The team then collected vaginal fluids from three donor women and transferred a sample to each recipient. All participants had been carefully screened for infections.

The recipients were then examined in a series of subsequent appointments to see if their condition improved and whether BV recurred. If it did, the women were given a further transplant.

The results reveal four of the recipients showed long-term improvements, with two requiring just one transplant and the others having three transplants each. After their last transplant, none of the four had a recurrence of BV for the remainder of the study – a period of between five months and 21 months depending on the recipient. Further analysis showed a dramatic and sustained change in the recipients’ vaginal microbiome after successful transplant, with it becoming very similar to that of their donor’s vaginal fluids and rich in lactobacilli. None of the women suffered any adverse effects.

“With this friendly microbiome takeover, symptoms and complications associated with BV rapidly subside,” said Elinav.

The remaining recipient showed partial improvement after two transplants..

The team say the approach now needs to be explored in much larger clinical trials and compared with a placebo, while potential long-term consequences and risks must also be explored.

Among them, the team warn that sperm could be transferred from a donor to a recipient, if they had recently had sex.

While donors in the current study abstained from sex for a week and recipients were advised on contraception, the team say it might be necessary to make contraception a mandatory requirement for recipients. They also suggest the development of a vaginal fluid bank, allowing samples to repeatedly be screened.

Elinav said the team is also exploring whether severe BV can be treated by administering a cocktail of “good” microbes alone – an approach that might be simpler, cheaper and more reproducible than transplanting vaginal fluids.

Phil Bennett, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Imperial College London who was not involved in the study, said it was now important to explore how best to match donors and recipients, understand links between vaginal microbiome and ethnicity, and determine which patients will benefit from the procedure.

The new study is the latest to explore the potential of transplanting microbes from one human to another. Faecal transplantsbetween humans have proved successful in treating infections of the superbug Clostridium difficile, while efforts are afoot to explore whether they could be used as a treatment for bowel cancer[https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/23/bowel-cancer-trial-aims-to-reset-gut-bacteria].

* uBiome[https://ubiome.com/] was founded in 2012 on the promise of helping ordinary people understand the bacteria[https://www.businessinsider.com/microbiome-gut-bacteria-test-forgotten-organ-future-medicine-ubiome-photos-2018-11?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest] living in and on them, known as their microbiome.

* The company eventually raised $105 million from investors[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-raises-83-million-and-plans-to-get-into-drug-development-2018-9?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest] and reached a valuation of $600 million.

* In late April, the FBI searched uBiome's office as part of an investigation.

* By the end of June, the company's top leadership and many of its board members had departed[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-leadership-ceo-execs-out-poop-testing-startup-fbi-2019-6?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest].

* In October, uBiome said it was shutting down[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-bankruptcy-ceases-operations-liquidates-chapter-7-2019-10?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest] in a chapter 7 bankruptcy.

* Business Insider reports regularly on the latest developments at uBiome. You can read our stories by subscribing to BI Prime.[https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/prime?r=ub-lp?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

The Silicon Valley startup uBiome[https://www.businessinsider.com/category/ubiome?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest] was founded in 2012, on the promise of helping ordinary people understand the bacteria[https://www.businessinsider.com/microbiome-gut-bacteria-test-forgotten-organ-future-medicine-ubiome-photos-2018-11?r=ub-lp?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest] living in and on them, known as their microbiome.

The company morphed from citizen science project to venture-backed startup, taking in $105 million from investors[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-raises-83-million-and-plans-to-get-into-drug-development-2018-9?r=ub-lp?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest] and reaching a valuation of $600 million.

Then the troubles began. The FBI raided the company in April, reportedly[https://www.wsj.com/articles/ubiome-offices-searched-by-fbi-11556301287] as part of an investigation into the startup's billing practices. By the end of June, the company's top leadership and many of its board members had departed[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-leadership-ceo-execs-out-poop-testing-startup-fbi-2019-6?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]. In October, the company said it was shutting down[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-bankruptcy-ceases-operations-liquidates-chapter-7-2019-10?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest] in a chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Read more: uBiome convinced Silicon Valley that testing poop was worth $600 million. Then the FBI came knocking. Here's the inside story.[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-poop-testing-startup-inside-story-what-happened-timeline-2019-5?r=ub-lp?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

Here's everything we know about what's going on at uBiome.

The inside story

* uBiome convinced Silicon Valley that testing poop was worth $600 million. Then the FBI came knocking. Here's the inside story.[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-poop-testing-startup-inside-story-what-happened-timeline-2019-5?r=ub-lp?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

* Embattled $600 million poop-testing startup uBiome once partnered with Nurx, a birth control company at the center of a New York Times exposé[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-nurx-birth-control-startup-nyt-expose-2019-6?r=ub-lp?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

* uBiome's founder repeatedly presented herself as years younger than she was, in the latest sign of trouble at the embattled $600 million poop-testing startup[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-startup-fbi-raid-jessica-richman-ceo-founders-misled-age-2019-5?r=ub-lp?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

* Here's the letter the $600 million healthcare startup uBiome sent to reassure investors after it was raided by the FBI[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-startup-letter-to-investors-from-john-rakow-after-fbi-raid-2019-5?r=ub-lp?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

* Silicon Valley startup uBiome raised $105 million on the promise of exploring a 'forgotten organ.' After an FBI raid, ex-employees say it cut corners in its quest for growth.[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-silicon-valley-microbiome-startup-cut-corners-employees-say-2019-5?r=ub-lp?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

Leadership exits and layoffs

* Poop-testing startup uBiome was once valued at $600 million by Silicon Valley's top VCs. It just filed for bankruptcy.[https://www.businessinsider.com/microbiome-startup-ubiome-files-for-bankruptcy-2019-9?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

* uBiome just added a top bankruptcy lawyer and a turnaround expert to its board as the troubled poop-testing startup grapples with its future[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-new-board-members-after-fbi-raid-board-departures-2019-7?r=ub-lp?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

* Troubled poop-testing startup uBiome is laying off half its staff[https://www.businessinsider.com/poop-testing-startup-ubiome-is-laying-off-114-employees-2019-7?r=ub-lp?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

* All of uBiome's top execs are out at the embattled poop-testing startup that's at the center of an FBI investigation[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-leadership-ceo-execs-out-poop-testing-startup-fbi-2019-6?r=ub-lp?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

* UBiome's independent directors are ditching the healthcare startup following an FBI raid, and now there's only 1 left[https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-on-the-ubiome-board-of-directors-after-fbi-raid-2019-5?r=ub-lp?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

* A microbiome-testing company that has raised $105 million has suspended its two main tests and put its co-CEOs on leave following an FBI raid[https://www.businessinsider.com/microbiome-testing-company-ubiome-suspends-smartgut-smartjane-tests-2019-5?r=ub-lp?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

Science and poop tests

* Bankrupt poop-testing startup uBiome just lost the government approval that's required to run key tests[https://www.businessinsider.com/poop-testing-startup-ubiome-loses-lab-certification-2019-9?r=ub-lp?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

* Bankrupt poop-testing startup uBiome was banking on CVS selling its tests — but the chain just turned it down[https://www.businessinsider.com/cvs-pharmacy-halts-plans-sell-ubiome-poop-tests-stores-2019-9?r=ub-lp?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

* uBiome insiders say key science at the buzzy startup was flawed from the start. Now, the company and a top science journal are investigating.[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-poop-testing-startup-problems-science-microbiome-2019-8?r=ub-lp?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

* uBiome just restarted lab operations, after the poop-testing startup brought back the lab director it laid off last week[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-resumes-explorer-testing-after-bringing-back-its-lab-director-2019-7?r=ub-lp?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

* A renowned Harvard geneticist and MacArthur 'genius' were among the 75 scientist advisers for embattled $600 million poop-testing startup uBiome. But 'they were pretty much there for show.'[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-fbi-raid-large-uninvolved-board-of-scientists-doctors-experts-2019-5?r=ub-lp?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

* I tried a test from troubled poop-testing startup uBiome that let me peek inside a 'forgotten organ.' Here's what I learned.[https://www.businessinsider.com/microbiome-gut-bacteria-test-forgotten-organ-future-medicine-ubiome-photos-2018-11?r=ub-lp?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

* A startup that's helping us better understand the bugs that live in us just raised $83 million to start developing treatments for diseases like cancer[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-raises-83-million-and-plans-to-get-into-drug-development-2018-9?r=ub-lp?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

Complaints and probes

* Poop-testing startup uBiome has filed for bankruptcy. Some of its largest creditors are health insurers saying they're owed millions in refunds.[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-bankruptcy-list-of-creditors-with-biggest-claims-2019-9?r=ub-lp?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

* An entrepreneur who worked with uBiome says the troubled poop-testing startup owes him $600,000[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-poop-testing-startup-fbi-raid-may-owe-entrepreneur-2019-7?r=ub-lp?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

* UBiome's board just tapped a former federal prosecutor to run an internal investigation after the FBI raided the $600 million Silicon Valley startup[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-board-tapped-milbanks-george-canellos-to-run-investigation-microbiome-startup-2019-5?r=ub-lp?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

* Customer complaints show $600 million health startup uBiome has been surprising patients and insurers with bills for years[https://www.businessinsider.com/customer-complaints-about-ubiomes-microbiome-tests-and-billing-2019-5?r=ub-lp?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

* The FBI reportedly just raided microbiome-testing startup uBiome as part of an investigation into improper billing[https://www.businessinsider.com/microbiome-testing-startup-ubiome-fbi-raid-2019-4?r=ub-lp?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

NOW WATCH: Animated map shows where American accents came from[https://www.businessinsider.com/animated-map-where-american-accents-come-from-2018-5?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

See Also:

* Here's everything you need to know about CBD, the cannabis compound that's in everything from coffee to ice cream and could soon be a $16 billion business[https://www.businessinsider.com/latest-news-about-cbd-science-business-and-investing-2019-6?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

* uBiome just added a top bankruptcy lawyer and a turnaround expert to its board as the troubled poop-testing startup grapples with its future[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-new-board-members-after-fbi-raid-board-departures-2019-7?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

* A CEO who built a cancer drugmaker and then joined Google’s $4.5 billion venture arm reveals the 2 key elements he looks for before investing in startups[https://www.businessinsider.com/what-gvs-david-schenkein-looks-for-in-healthcare-investments-2019-7?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

Big Dog Chains can’t keep its celebrity-endorsed haute couture dog collars in stock. Especially since the Montreal-company appeared on the CBC TV show Dragon’s Den in March, it has been selling out of its blinged-out, diamond-encrusted, solid gold collars that have been snapped up by celebrities such as Drake and Jennifer Lopez.

“We are mostly doing custom creations,” says Big Dog Chains’ founder Miguel Del Moral, a jeweller by training.

Many of his customers, often millennials with no kids and large disposable incomes, buy gold or powder-coated collars through his website. If they also spring for the leash, they generally spend around $1,000. The collars come with a lifetime warranty and can be resized if your pooch puts on some weight.

But it’s the celebrities that fork over the big money. Del Moral’s signature piece is a platinum $1-million collar with diamonds totalling over 100 carats.

“People love their dogs,” he says. “They are spoiling their pets a lot more.”

Canadians are lavish spenders when it comes to their pets. And there’s no shortage of suppliers to meet the demand from doggy gourmet treats and designer outfits to pet spas and vacations at indoor resorts.

The Canadian pet business, which includes pet food, pet products and supplies is worth around $9.2-billion, based on 2014 projections from Packaged Facts, a market research firm. Across the border, The American Pet Products Association[https://www.americanpetproducts.org/press_industrytrends.asp] says Americans spent US$75.6-billion on their cats and dogs last year, up from US$69.5-billion a year earlier.

Heading to the park in high style

Pet accessories, in general, are popular for the more well-off pet owner. At Vancouver’s Barking Babies, for instance, shoppers can pick up the 360 camo jacket for $148, the stretch tux for $170 or the Metro Couture Carrier, a dog-carrying purse, for $495.

At Old Faithful Shop, also in Vancouver, the stylish Find My Animal leash is made of marine-grade rope, hand-twisted with solid brass hardware. It sells for $89.95 and is often sold out.

“Accessories are doing really well,” says Meghan Billingsley, owner of Bone & Biscuit Co. in Vaughan, Ont., where high-end dog beds are top sellers.

“The lens people are coming in with is that they want pieces that will fit in with their aesthetic. Quality is also a big deal,” she says.

And as nutrition becomes increasingly important to humans, they’re also shifting that same focus on their pets.

Ms. Billingsley has noticed a trend towards canine gut health, with more dog owners purchasing health supplements to help treat stomach issues. An example is Adored Beast Apothecary’s homeopathic Leaky Gut Protocol, which promises to improve digestive health for US$139.99. Fido’s Flora, which aims to heighten a dig’s immune response, retails for US$55.99 for a 40-gram bottle.

There’s also the raw food craze, where dog owners are buying up frozen or freeze-dried raw food items, shelling out $22.99 on a chicken dinner that’s 70-per-cent meat, 10-per-cent organs, 10-per-cent ground bone and 10-per-cent vegetables, says Ms. Billingsley. In comparison, top-of-the-line kibble costs about $100 for a 25-pound bag.

A ‘pawdicure’ and other spa treatments for pampered pets

Pets are also getting the royal treatment when their owners are away. Forget being left with the neighbour or at a traditional kennel, more dogs and cats are staying at high-end spots such as the Royal Pet Hotel and Spa in Barrie, Ont. They also arrive in style – and sometimes with a bit of celebrity chase.

“We will collect the pet via taxi,” says Jenn Dahinten, the hotel and spa’s general manager. “It’s a lovely van with a leather interior. If it’s a cat we’re picking up, nine times out of 10, our service includes catching the cat.”

Once the pet guests arrive, they are put up in a luxurious private room with amenities that can include a four-poster bed or scratching post as well as laundry service. Unlike a kennel, each climate-controlled room is not open to other rooms and has a window with a view of the countryside. As classical music soothes the animals, pets can relax on their private porch replete with artificial turf with access to an outdoor exercise area. Rates for dogs start at $53.90 a night for a single; queens or kings are $73.90 a night.

The hotel and spa also features special programming, whether that’s a doggie massage ($37 for 25 minutes) with a registered massage therapist, a “pawdicure” or an enrichment program ($460) that teaches dogs manners and commands.

All this pampering will set a client back $700-to-$1,500 per week – a fee that many wealthy people have no problem spending to ensure their furry best friends get the luxury treatment they deserve.

Follow this link to view this story on globeandmail.com: Why Rover needs a solid-gold dog collar – and a luxury spa vacation[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/globe-wealth/article-why-rover-needs-a-solid-gold-dog-collar-and-a-luxury-spa-vacation/]

The Globe and Mail

If you want to receive twice-daily briefings like this by email, sign up to the Front Page newsletter here[https://secure.telegraph.co.uk/secure/newsletter/front-page/?icid=News_Front-Page_text_story_abovearticle_onlineFAM] and try our Audio Briefings on WhatsApp[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/04/18/telegraph-audio-briefings-sign-new-whatsapp-group/?WT.mc_id=tmgoff_whatsapp_main_whatapp-signup-News&utm_source=tmgoff&utm_medium=tmgoff_whatsapp&utm_content=main_whatapp-signup&utm_campaign=tmgoff_whatsapp_main_whatapp-signup-News] .

Boris Johnson to seek Supreme Court ruling on no-deal Brexit

Deal, delay or… another court battle? Boris Johnson is prepared to launch a legal action[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a0a] in his attempts to ensure Britain can leave the European Union this month with no deal, it has emerged. Several Government sources have told The Telegraph that the Prime Minister is willing to go to the Supreme Court in an effort to avoid having to write a letter asking for a delay to Brexit. Chief Political Correspondent Christopher Hope explains how it raises the possibility that Mr Johnson could give evidence[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a0b] in the court case. The prospect of a return to the Supreme Court would again put Mr Johnson's Government at the mercy of its judges - who include court president Baroness Hale. Camilla Tomineyreports on how Lady Hale's impartiality was called into question[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a0c] at the weekend.

The EU will decide at the end of the week if a Brexit deal is going to be possible[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a0d] . Both sides agree that time is running out for a deal before next week's EU leaders' summit. As British negotiators return to Brussels today, Europe Editor Peter Foster looks at the key issues that divide the two sides[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a0e], the likely roadblocks to an agreement and the signposts to look for along the way. How would a no-deal Brexit affect you? Asa Bennett explains in these videos[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a0f] .

Extinction Rebellion: Hospitals face climate protest chaos

Emergency care at hospitals could be disrupted by an attempted two-week shutdown of London, Extinction Rebellion has admitted. Activists have vowed that the climate protest will be five times bigger than the one in April, as they blockade Westminster in action that is likely to bring the capital to a standstill. They are due to take to the streets from 10am today to block access to key locations. Hayley Dixon has full details of the planned shutdown[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a10] .

Margaret's tip from beyond the grave? Get my smoking right

Helena Bonham Carter has claimed that she spoke to Princess Margaret via a psychic to ask if she could play her in The Crown. The response? That would be fine, the princess said, provided Bonham Carter smartened up a bit and learnt how to wield a cigarette holder. Anita Singh reports how the Oscar-nominated actress said the "little chat" was nothing out of the ordinary for her[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a11] .

News digest

* Diplomatic immunity | Named: Diplomat's wife who left UK after fatality[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a12]

* Operation Midland | Detectives cleared after 'inadequate' police probe[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a13]

* Antidepressants 'doled out' | 'Alarming' steep rise in over-65s taking pills[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a14]

* John Humphrys | BBC is 'too sympathetic' on trans issues in reporting[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a15]

* Away with the fairies | Folklore dying out due to rise of social media[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a16]

Gallery: The big picture

Wartime drama | Just Jane, an Avro Lancaster NX611 Bomber that has been restored to fully operational taxiing standard, was the star of a Forties re-enactment event at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre. Click here for our picture editor's selection[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a17] of more striking images from around the world.

Comment

* Nick Timothy | Brussels must want no deal. Why else show bad faith?[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a19]

* Tim Stanley | Rory Stewart is a classic Privileged Crusader[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a1a]

* Sara Khan | We must fight back against the forces of hatred[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a1b]

* Bill Gates | Why probiotics are the answer to malnutrition[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a1c]

* Jane Shilling | Is loitering in the haberdashery the path to happiness?[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a1d]

Editor's choice

* Time to go back to black | How light pollution is affecting your body[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a1f]

* Christiane Lutz | My debut as Glyndebourne director and life with a star tenor[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a21]

* Katie Morley Investigates | 'I offered to pay debt - then it trebled to £9k'[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a23]

Business and money briefing

Global cutbacks | HSBC is preparing to axe up to 10,000 jobs as it begins a drastic cost-cutting measure under new interim chief Noel Quinn. As Hasan Chowdhury reports, the plans would make for the bank's most significant cutbacks in recent memory[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a27] .

* Thomas Cook | Executives warned ahead of collapse of £10bn claims[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a28]

* Investment tip | British tech star is recovering well and looks cheap to peers[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a29]

* Stay on top of the markets | Live stocks and shares updates 24 hours a day[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a2a]

Sport briefing

Newcastle Utd 1 Manchester Utd 0 | Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had no answers after his side's "unacceptable" loss. Jason Burt reports how a second-half strike from Matty Longstaff leaves the Red Devils marooned in mid-table[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a2b] .

* Man City 0 Wolverhampton 2 | Champions eight points behind leaders[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a2c]

* Rugby World Cup | Eddie Jones set to rotate England squad for France[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a2d]

* Cricket | Who will be new England head coach after Kirsten underwhelmed?[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a2e]

And finally...

Alexa, please make sure I'm polite | When addressing Alexa, Amazon's voice-controlled assistant, it is not uncommon to raise one's voice and even bark a command. But a neuropsychologist has warned that parents who yell out for its help risk setting a poor example for their children[http://t.email3.telegraph.co.uk/r/?id=h724c445,31a50989,31a50a31] .

PROBIOTIC pills could hold the key to ending malnutrition across the globe within the next two decades, according to the billionaire Bill Gates.

Probiotics, or "good" bacteria, are thought to help maintain a healthy gut and are commonly added to foods such as Yakult or Actimel yogurt.

Many view these so called "functional foods" as a gimmick but Mr Gates, who is giving the annual Hawking Fellowship Lecture at Cambridge University Union today, believes the science that underpins them could save millions of lives.

Writing in today's Daily Telegraph, Mr Gates says if he could only work to solve one problem it would be malnutrition. "It's the greatest health inequity in the world - but thanks to new scientific breakthroughs, I believe we will find a way to solve it within 20 years," he says.

He argues that better scientific understanding of the human microbiome - specifically the microorganisms which inhabit the gut - will enable the development of "smartly engineered" probiotic pills to enable us to retain more nutrients from what we eat.

"In the future, we'll be able to create next-generation probiotic pills that contain ideal combinations of bacteria - even ones that are tailored to your specific gut," says the Microsoft founder turned philanthropist.

Malnutrition remains a much bigger global health threat than often realised as it is no longer always visible.

A lack of nutrients in early life is responsible for the mental and physical "stunting" of an estimated 155 million children globally. These children may not appear physically different - some may be overweight - but suffer from irreversible developmental problems.

According to Mr Gates, 63, research into the human microbiome will provide the "basic insights" to help experts "figure nutrition out" - improving the health of millions in the process.

"Over the next 10 to 20 years, we're going to learn more about each individual microbial species,'' he says.

As well as probiotic pills, Mr Gates highlights the use of microbiota directed complementary foods. "That is going to not only help prevent malnutrition and obesity, but lots of other diseases - like asthma, allergies, and some autoimmune diseases, which may be triggered by an unbalanced microbiome," he adds.

Bill Gates: Page 16

'In the future, we'll be able to create probiotic pills that contain ideal bacteria - even ones tailored to your specific gut'

The curse of world hunger and malnutrition will be ended by 2040 through major breakthroughs in science, Bill Gates will say today.

And malaria will be 'virtually eliminated', according to the billionaire US philanthropist.

Official figures show around 820million people suffer from hunger around the world with nearly a billion more having other forms of malnutrition which result in severe weight loss and impaired development.

Giving a lecture at Cambridge University, Microsoft tycoon Mr Gates, 63, will say solving malnutrition could also help end the obesity epidemic in the West and prevent asthma, allergies and some autoimmune diseases.

He will stress: 'I get asked a lot what I would choose if I could only solve one problem. My answer is always malnutrition. It's the greatest health inequity in the world. Period. By solving malnutrition, we can fix one of the biggest contributors to inequity.'

Mr Gates predicts over the next 20 years 'we will solve malnutrition and significantly reduce the number of nutrition-related deaths'. He will say: 'If you don't get enough nutrition during the first three years of life, you don't develop properly - physically or mentally.' The businessman will give the Hawking Fellowship lecture - named after Professor Stephen Hawking who died in 2018. Gates used to discuss science with the professor.

He will say two forms of malnutrition are well-understood - those caused by infections and a lack of nutrients. But a third cause remains a puzzle.

Children suffering from starvation often continue to struggle when their diet returns to normal. Mr Gates argues this is to do with an imbalance of bacteria in the gut. He insists the solution lies in a deeper understanding of the microbiome - good bacteria in the gut - and predicts scientists will be able to 'smartly engineer interventions' to fix microbiomes.

Mr Gates will say the breakthroughs will also have 'huge benefits for the rich world' in battling obesity, asthma, allergies and autoimmune diseases. 'Over and under-nutrition are two sides of the same coin. If we can figure nutrition out - and I believe we will within the next two decades - we'll save millions of lives and improve even more.' Mr Gates, who has spent years trying to help tackle malaria, will also say he believes the disease will be 'virtually eliminated' by 2040 through inserting genes into mosquitoes to stop them reproducing.

© Daily Mail

Don’t throw out the stalks and leaves, because they’re edible, too

Over the years, as our palates have become more used to processed foods, it has become habit to peel vegetables, removing their fibrous skins, without checking if we actually need to. Arguably, non-organic vegetables should be peeled, because of fungicide, weedkiller and pesticide residues, but when vegetables haven’t been sprayed with chemicals, their skins and more fibrous parts become an immune-boosting part of our diets, full of probiotics and nutrients usually lacking in processed foods.

Kohlrabi is one great example: its leaves are super-tasty, especially when cooked in a similar way to cabbage or collard greens; the skin and stalks will most likely be edible, too, unless it’s a particularly mature specimen. To test, cut off a little skin and stalk and bite into it: it will be tough, but if it’s not very woody, it’s fine to leave on. Finely slicing or dicing any fibrous vegetable skin will make it palatable, even if raw.

Kohlrabi ceviche

Ceviche is one of my favourite ways to prepare and preserve food. It wakes up your mouth with its punchy flavours and can give tired ingredients a new lease of life. It is, of course, traditionally made with fish, but the approach works just as well with any combination of vegetables.

Serves 4 as a snack or part of a main meal

1 small kohlrabi

1 green chilli, or to taste

1 organic (or fungicide-free) lime

½ pink grapefruit, optional

8 coriander stalks, optional

Remove the stalks and leaves from the kohlrabi, set aside the four tenderest leaves, then very finely chop the rest. Cut the main bulb into 5mm cubes. Finely chop a green chilli (pith and seeds removed, if you prefer less heat) and mix with the kohlrabi. Zest the lime into the bowl, then squeeze in its juice. If you have them to hand, add eight finely chopped coriander stalks. For some extra colour, add half a pink grapefruit, peeled and finely diced. Stir everything together and season generously with salt. Serve on the reserved kohlrabi leaves, or marinate in the fridge for up to five days.

According to the National Institutes of Health, the majority of Americans regularly take at least one supplement, including vitamins, minerals, herbals and botanicals, amino acids and enzymes. While supplements can’t replace a healthy diet, research has found that some dietary supplements can be helpful in promoting overall health and can also be beneficial for specific health conditions.

But how do you know you’re getting the most out of the supplements you’re taking?

HOW TO KNOW IF YOU ARE VITAMIN DEFICIENT

You might have heard that craving certain foods, like fish, signals that your body is in need of a specific supplement, like fish oil. Or that craving meat might mean you are anemic. However, according to Keri Gans, MS, RDN, CDN, and author of "The Small Change Diet", there is no scientific evidence supporting this.

She does point out that there are a few symptoms of vitamin deficiency that are obvious, including fatigue and hair loss. A not-so-obvious symptom? Sometimes experiencing gastrointestinal problems might be a sign you need to take a daily probiotic.

However, keep in mind there are many times your body isn’t going to give you any signs, and lab work conducted at your doctor’s office or your own knowledge about your dietary needs are really the only conclusive ways to figure out what nutrients your body is lacking.

For example, someone who doesn’t consume a well-rounded healthy diet might need a multivitamin to fill in nutritional gaps. A vegan may need a B12 supplement because they are not consuming animal products. Or a pregnant woman will likely have to take prenatal vitamins (including folate, DHA, choline and calcium) to support a growing fetus.

Having food allergies or intolerances can also make you a good candidate for taking a supplement. For example, a lactose-intolerant person or a person with a milk allergy might consider adding a calcium and vitamin D supplement for optimal bone health.

But remember, always speak with your healthcare practitioner about any health changes and before starting a new supplement regimen — especially since some supplements can counteract certain medications. The NIH warns that vitamin K can reduce the ability of the blood thinner Coumadin® to prevent blood from clotting. St. John’s wort, often taken to ward off depression, can speed the breakdown of many drugs (including antidepressants and birth control pills) and thereby reduce the effectiveness of these drugs. Antioxidant supplements, including vitamins C and E, might reduce the effectiveness of some types of chemotherapy.

More: Do you have depression? How to know & what to do

HOW TO DETERMINE IF YOUR SUPPLEMENTS ARE WORKING

Most supplements aren’t going to work like magic. Even if they are working, it’s likely you won’t feel any differently, since there aren’t always symptoms to begin with.

Gans does note that there are a few scenarios where you will feel a difference, such as with iron deficiency. If you started supplementing with iron and feel less tired than before you started taking the supplement, it could be working. However, she maintains in this case that it is still important to speak with your doctor and retest your nutrient levels. The same could be said of a probiotic. “For example, if after you started on one your GI issues improved, then one could say the probiotic is helping,” she points out. However, it could also be having a placebo effect.

QUALITY IS KEY

If you want to ensure that your supplements are going to work, Gans stresses the importance of buying from a reputable brand with third-party certifications. For example, Gans, who works with MegaFood vitamins and supplements, points out that they are “made with real food from trusted farm partners plus added nutrients and offer up to nine certifications for purity and safety. ” Additionally, “The company tests for over 125 herbicides and pesticides, and is the only supplement brand to have its entire line Certified Glyphosate Residue Free,” she adds. “Look for companies like MegaFood that craft high-quality supplements so that you know you are giving your body the best. ”

More: Herbal tea 101: Why that grocery store tea bag isn’t doing anything

Also, remember that supplements are never going to replace a healthy diet. Just as their name implies, they serve to supplement it.

Looking for some healthy fall recipes? Try our guilt-free pumpkin spice latte recipe.

This article originally appeared on Grateful: Vitamins and supplements: How to know if they're working

Barbara O'Neill also told clients that vaccines caused ADHD and epilepsy.

An Australian naturopath who advised clients that their cancer[https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/Cancer] was a fungal infection and could be cured using bicarbonate of soda has been banned from practicing[https://www.hccc.nsw.gov.au/Hearings---decisions/Public-statements-and-warnings/Public-Statement-and-Statement-of-Decision-in-relation-to-in-relation-to-Mrs-Barbara-O-Neill] for life by the New South Wales Health Care Complaints Commission.

Barbara O’Neill, who ran a health retreat in New South Wales and charged up to $3100[https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/antivax-naturopath-banned-after-watchdog-puts-bite-on-her-claims/news-story/d2e196142433676619ffa45902182fd7] (£1700) a week for treatments, was judged by the HCCC to be "misleading vulnerable people" with the "selective information" she gave.

The investigation was launched after the HCCC received a slew of complaints between October 2018 and January about the advice O’Neill was promoting.

This included encouraging clients to remove food groups like fruit and carbohydrates from their diet and eschew traditional medical treatment for cancer, while instead using probiotics and bicarbonate wraps[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRfSsu9AQeY&feature=share] to treat their illness.

O’Neill also claimed that vaccines are responsible for an ‘epidemic’ of "ADHD, autism, epilepsy and cot death" and that antibiotics cause cancer.

The HCCC investigation unearthed that O’Neill had never possessed membership with an accredited health organisation, and had "limited" health-related academic qualifications.

One complaint about her conduct listed in the HCCC judgement said that dietary advice for babies published on O’Neill’s personal website could potentially lead to fatalities. In response, O’Neill told the HCCC that the directives were not based on any official guidance or evidence but instead "her own experiences".

O'Neill also argued she didn't give clients advice but instead provided them with "information" -which included telling pregnant women not to take antibiotics for streptococcus B on the grounds that "no baby has ever died from Strep B catching out of birth". Yet statistics show[https://www.health.gov.au/resources/pregnancy-care-guidelines/part-f-routine-maternal-health-tests/group-b-streptococcus] that early-onset Strep B has a 14% fatality rate in infants under four weeks old, a risk reduced by 80% if antibiotics are taken.

A petition[https://www.change.org/p/hccc-petition-the-hccc-for-barbara-o-neill-naturopath-misty-mountain-health-retreat] started by ‘Friends of Barbara O’Neill’ and calling for the HCCC to repeal the ruling has now reached 36,000 signatures at the time of writing.

Sure, SoulCycle and CorePower Yoga are all the rage, but whatever happened to Jazzercise, Tae Bo and the ThighMaster?

They haven't disappeared into the abyss. They're among the old-school workout trends that are still around, just in modern form.

Your auntie's favorite Jazzercise celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, a reminder that just because a workout trend is "old" doesn't mean it isn't fun and effective.

Ian Smith, bestselling author of "SHRED: The Revolutionary Diet" and chief medical adviser at Jetson, a probiotic company, says old-school fitness workouts such as spinning and Tae Bo are more applicable and beneficial than ever. He suggests modifying them into high-intensity interval workouts for an even better burn.

"Instead of doing an exercise in a steady state manner, one oscillates between high-burst exertion and low exertion/rest for shorter periods of time," Smith tells USA TODAY. "This increases the length of caloric burn as well as fat burn."

Smith says workouts such as step aerobics and Jazzercise are a great way for people to ease into an exercise routine.

"Older fitness trends are a great way for people who have been sedentary for a while or who are largely deconditioned," Smith says. "These exercises are 'oldies but goodies' and should not be discounted or frowned upon because they don't involve the latest technology or training methods."

Classes such as step aerobics, spinning and Jazzercise provide great cardio exercise and have even evolved into the modern trendy classes we love to frequent.

Smith reminds us SoulCycle is the modern version of spinning and CrossFit is what Tae Bo was in the '90s.

Amanda Tress, author and founder of "FASTer Way to Fat Loss," says Tae Bo, step aerobics, spinning, dance cardio, hula hoop and even products such as the ThighMaster and NordicTrack get people excited about working out.

"These old trends are great because they burn calories, increase cardiovascular strength and build muscle (which is important for increasing metabolism)," Tress says. "Many of these trends are also social, so they get people out the door for a workout when they otherwise may have skipped that day."

On the flip side, some people's favorite old-school workouts can be done in the comfort of home by following along to a video, Tress says. It's easy to grab a hula hoop and get to work in the middle of your living room or YouTube a step aerobics workout while your dinner is cooking in the oven.

If you'd like the more communal feel of working out with other people, Jazzercise offers classes around the country.

Ultimately, the best form of exercise is the one you're going to actually do, Tress says. If taking a Jazzercise class will get you up and moving more than a gym membership, then do that.

"Going to the gym is a great option, so I wouldn't encourage anyone to stop if that's what they love, but the gym isn't necessary for a great workout," Tress says.

Hack your cycle to get the best out of every month

The rise in period-tracking apps[https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/period-tracking-apps-best-clue-flow-pink-pad-menstruation-flow-fertility-cramps-pms-a7365356.html] has opened our eyes to the impact our menstrual cycles[https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/menstrual-cycle-alcohol-how-affect-women-jenny-valentish-woman-of-substance-a8357716.html] have upon the different elements of our lives.

From understanding our mood, to tracking physical symptoms, the value of being better informed about our physical and mental health is profound.

In fact, science has shown that we’re more prone to specific injuries, struggle with endurance training and are more adept at lifting weights at certain points throughout the month.

The recent news that Chelsea FC women’s football team sync their menstrual cycles to their training schedule[https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/fran-kirby-lionesses-chelsea-fc-menstrual-cycle-training-schedule-a9108686.html] has highlighted the benefits of tailoring our exercise regime and diet to the various stages of the month.

But where to begin? Read on to discover when and how to adapt your diet and work-outs to each stage of your period.

Menstruation (days 1-5)

The first day of our period is the first day of our cycle. At this time, hormone levels drop. A lack of iron can affect our energy levels and increase cravings, says nutritionist, Laura Southern from London Gynaecology[https://www.london-gynaecology.com/].

What to eat when you're menstruating

Foods rich in iron, such as lentils, can help give you a boost when you're feeling fatigued (iStock)

Nutritionist Dr Sana Khan[https://avicennawellbeing.com/] recommends balancing blood sugar levels by eating “a combination of protein, good fats and complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains, legumes and vegetables” at this time of the month. If you suffer with cramps, however, Dr Khan recommends avoiding “gas producing” foods, such as raw foods and sugary processed foods.

“Nuts and seeds contain magnesium, which is known as a muscle relaxant, and may help alleviate some of the cramps and discomfort some women have,” she tells The Independent.

As caffeine is a natural diuretic which dehydrates the body, Dr Khan recommends swapping caffeinated drinks with herbal teas during this phase, to prevent excess water loss.

A lack of iron can make us feel fatigued and low in energy, adds Southern, so "eating iron rich foods such as red meat, green veg, lentils and seeds can support iron production," she says.

What exercise to do when you're menstruating

Go for a dip in the pool (iStock)

Cramps, joint and muscle pain, headaches and low energy levels are just some of the symptoms with the potential to disrupt physical performance, says Dr Petra Simic, clinical director at Bupa Health Clinics[https://www.bupa.co.uk/health/health-assessments/our-centres]. Insomnia, poor concentration, irritability and appetite changes can also make women feel below par when it comes to sport, she adds.

At this stage, it’s important to listen to your body and reduce the intensity of your workouts, if necessary. Light cardio, shorter stints of aerobic exercise and swimming or yoga are all good options at this point.

Dr Simic states that this is also a good time for some light weight-lifting: “Oestrogen levels are at their lowest during your period which can make some women feel stronger when strength training,” she tells The Independent.

“Make sure you get expert help with lifting and keep weights light to avoid injury. If you experience fatigue, adjust what you’re doing to compensate.”

The follicular phase (days 1-14)

Hormone levels begin to rise in anticipation for ovulation during the follicular phase, which comes in the middle of a cycle. This is usually a 'feel-good' time of the cycle, according to Pradnya Pisal, consultant gynaecologist at London Gynaecology[https://www.london-gynaecology.com/].

What to eat during the follicular phase

(iStock)

According to Dr Khan, digestive health is very important at this stage in order to support the production of these hormones. She recommends probiotic rich food (fermented foods, such as kimchi, yoghurt and kombucha), omega three fats (oily fish, nuts and seeds) and a range of coloured vegetables “to support the liver detoxification pathways”. Bitter greens, such as rocket, help promote the production of digestive juice and enzymes, she adds.

What exercise to do during the follicular phase

Ensure you warm-up sufficiently during the follicular phase (iStock)

Studies by Sung and Han[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4236309/] (2014) and Wikström-Frisén, Boraxbekk and Henriksson-Larsén[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26558833] (2017) suggest that strength training during this period may result in higher increases in muscle strength, compared with other times of the month.

Research conducted by Balachandar[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5505581/] (2017) and Herzberg[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28795075] (2017) revealed the surprising statistic that women are three to six times more likely than men to suffer musculoskeletal injuries in the follicular phase leading up to ovulation, particularly tendon and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL, or knee) injuries, when oestrogen levels are high. This is believed to be due to lower rates of tendon collagen synthesis following exercise.

Longer warm-up exercises and not overstretching can help minimise this risk at this time of the month.

Ovulation (day 14)

At this stage, oestrogen levels reach a peak, leading to a rise in luteinising hormone (LH) which results in the release of a mature egg, says Pisal.

What to eat during ovulation

Add lots of variety to your meal with a bright, colourful salad (Getty Images)

Surging oestrogen levels can provide a natural energy boost at this time of the month, making good quality sleep vital for rest and repair. “At this stage of the cycle, basel temperature – or the lowest body temperature your body reaches whilst at rest – can increase slightly, making it a great time to get lots of colourful salads and smoothies into the system”, says Dr Khan. Vitamin b whole grains, such as brown rice, help support this energy production, she adds.

What exercise to do when you're ovulating

How far can you push yourself? (iStock)

With energy levels at their highest, it’s a good time to push yourself physically and enjoy the additional endurance that often characterises this time. Progesterone remains low, meaning that the body’s overall pain tolerance increases. Now is a good opportunity to strive for a personal best and focus on total body strength training.

The luteal phase (days 14-28)

The luteal phase comes after you release an egg and before your period starts.

What to eat during the luteal phase

Salmon is an excellent source of healthy fat (iStock)

It’s at this time that we often suffer from pre-menstrual symptoms, such as acne, cravings, bloating and breast tenderness.

"Food cravings often occur just before menstruation, at the end of the luteal phase," says Southern.

"This can be due to changes in the stress hormone cortisol which can spike for some women.

"Cortisol causes food cravings, especially cravings for sweet foods. Food cravings can also be due to mood swings," she adds.

Some women experience poor sleep a few nights before their period begins, says Southern. This is due to hot flushes from a dip in oestrogen.

Exhaustion from broken sleep, plus a drop in serotonin that can also occur at this time, can also cause sugar cravings, says Southern.

Dr Khan recommends avoiding sugar rich and processed foods at this time, as these can stimulate sugar cravings.

“Salty foods are good to limit as salt can retain water, thus adding to the bloating feeling”, she tells The Independent.

“Fibre is a great way to give a sense of feeling full (satiety) and can help reduce cravings. Fibre rich food include fruit and vegetables and whole grains. Also, certain teas can help with bloating, such as fennel and turmeric”, she says.

Certain foods can exacerbate inflammation in the body both before and during your period, Southern tells The Independent. At this time, she recommends eating foods high in 'essential fats', such as oily fish, nuts, seeds, olive oil, avocado and olives.

What exercise to do during the luteal phase

Relaxing activities like yoga can help relieve cramps (iStock)

In the luteal phase, body temperature rises by at least 0.3 degrees Celsius after ovulation and remains high until menstruation. Progesterone in the body also increases. For this reason, it’s important to stay hydrated and keep cool when exercising.

Researchers at female health app Clue note that you might not have as much endurance during this time and may struggle to hit previously achieved goals, which can be frustrating. They advise women not to judge the results of training undertaken during this phase in isolation.

While you might not want to skip training entirely during this period, the luteal phase can be a good time to schedule rest days. During the days leading up to your period, activities that relax your body, such as yoga or Pilates, may help relieve symptoms such as cramps and muscle fatigue.

Water retention is common prior to menstruation, so it’s worth remembering that changes to body mass may impact performance, especially in sports where weight is important, such as weight lifting and distance running.

HCCC bars Barbara O’Neill from practising after finding that she told cancer patients to avoid chemotherapy and sick mothers not to take antibiotics

A naturopath who told vulnerable clients that their cancer was a fungus that could be cured with bicarbonate soda rather than through conventional medical treatment has been barred from practising for life, according to the New South Wales Health Care Complaints Commission.

Barbara O’Neill describes herself as a qualified naturopath and nutritionist and has worked at health retreats in Queensland, Victoria and NSW. She gives lectures internationally, has authored books on health and nutrition, and appears in YouTube videos. The HCCC found: “Mrs O’Neill does not recognise that she is misleading vulnerable people including mothers and cancer sufferers by providing very selective information.”

“The misinformation has huge potential to have a detrimental effect on the health of individuals as Mrs O’Neill discourages mainstream treatment for cancer, antibiotics and vaccination,” the commission’s decision, published in October, found.

The commission’s investigation found O’Neill never held any membership with any accredited professional health organisation and had failed to obtain any relevant health-related degrees or diplomas. According to the investigation she also failed to keep records of consultations with clients, falsely claimed to be able to cure cancer, did not treat clients in a safe or ethical manner and posed a risk to the health and safety of members of the public.

She has been permanently barred from providing any health services either voluntarily or in a paid capacity, including giving lectures. It comes after the commission received numerous complaints about O’Neill between October 2018 and January.

These included complaints about dietary advice for babies that O’Neill published on her personal website which, if followed, would lead to the child’s death or injury. According to the HCCC’s decision, O’Neill told the commission the dietary advice was based on her own experiences and she had never read the National Health and Medical Research Council’s infant feeding guidelines for health workers, which provide evidence-based recommendations.

A complaint was also received by the commission after O’Neill allegedly gave a lecture promoting the discredited theory that cancer is a fungus. The investigation found she encouraged clients to remove essential food groups from their diet such as fruits and carbohydrates, and to instead use probiotics and bicarbonate wraps to treat their cancer. According to the investigation, O’Neill falsely claimed in one lecture that a doctor had a 90% success rate curing cancer with sodium bicarbonate injections. She produced no evidence to support the statistic.

According to the HCCC, O’Neill also gave advice based on theories from medical doctors who have been sued by their former patients for failing to treat them appropriately, including one doctor who was found guilty of manslaughter. The HCCC noted that after being informed by the commission of these legal cases, O’Neill said she would continue to use the advice from those discredited doctors in her lectures. The HCCC found that she also told her clients that following her treatments would be more successful if they gave up chemotherapy and other conventional treatments.

The HCCC noted that O’Neill frequently told the commission that she did not give clients advice, but merely provided them with information. The HCCC said this information included telling pregnant women not to take antibiotics for streptococcus B infections because “no baby has ever died from Strep B catching out of birth”. However, statistics from the Royal Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists indicate early-onset Strep B has a fatality rate of 14% in neonates, a risk that can be reduced by 80% with antibiotics.

The commission found that O’Neill is a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church and usually delivered health lectures to congregants at church-organised events, and also lectured overseas and performed telephone consultations for a fee. The commission said she had no authority to provide advice in “highly complex and specialised areas such as cancer treatment, use of antibiotics for Strep B and immunisation”.

Do you know more? melissa.davey@theguardian.com

In October 2018, microbiome testing startup uBiome was riding pretty high. Less than a month before, the company had announced a shift to more therapeutic products, raised $83 million in a venture capital round, and added a former Novartis CEO to its board[https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2018/09/21/why-former-novartis-ceo-joe-jimenez-joined-a-microbiome-startups-board/#2590543c6a07].

Fast forward a year later: the company’s cofounders have resigned[https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2019/07/01/health-tech-startup-ubiome-founders-resign-interim-ceo-leaves-as-company-faces-multiple-investigations/#6b61b8b0459f], it faces law enforcement scrutiny[https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2019/05/01/microbiome-startup-ubiome-cofounders-on-administrative-leave-after-reports-of-fbi-raid/#7a823c315829] over its billing practices, it’s currently in bankruptcy[https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2019/09/04/health-test-company-ubiome-has-filed-for-bankruptcy/#7401d3413639] proceedings, and it filed a motion[https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ubiome-converts-chapter-11-case-to-chapter-7-petition-company-to-cease-operations-and-liquidate-300929269.html] Tuesday to move from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which would mean liquidating its assets and shutting down.

A lot can happen in 12 months.

The San Francisco-based company was founded in 2012, and its first product was an at-home kit where people could provide fecal samples and send them in for genomics testing. The company then purported to provide a report about its customer’s microbiome—the bacteria present in the intestines that can have a big impact on people’s health.

The company then began offering a test for irritable bowel syndrome and a test for vaginal health. These tests required a doctor’s order. The company’s practices involving doctors who ordered those tests are reportedly under scrutiny by law enforcement, and its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing included notes about millions of dollars owed to insurance companies as refunds. In July, the company’s cofounders and co-CEOs, Jessica Richman and Zac Apte, resigned from the company.

During the company’s Chapter 11 filing, the company had indicated that it would be looking into a sale. However, according to the motion it filed in court today, the company wasn’t able to secure lending that would enable it to continue operations. As a consequence, it has requested the court allow it to cease operations and liquidate its assets in order to pay off its creditors.

The bankruptcy court still needs to approve the motion. If it is accepted and the company moves to Chapter 7, the liquidation of uBiome’s assets will happen under the supervision of a court-appointed trustee.

FROM her fancy nano-particle-free foundation to face cream made from her own blood, Victoria Beckham goes to great lengths to preserve her youthful glow. Her latest tip to stem the ravages of time? Eating four avocados a day. According to a recent interview to promote her new beauty range, Victoria, 45, began bingeing on bumper quantities of the green fruit after reading that the secret to glowing skin was consuming the right amount of the fats they contain. Bizarre? Perhaps. But this isn't the first time Posh Spice has served up nutritional wisdom — often on her Instagram page. From chomping sprouted grains to sipping moon water, ANTONIA HOYLE chews the (monounsaturated) fat on Victoria's unusual dietary advice.

AN AVALANCHE  OF AVOCADOS THAT Posh is partial to an avocado will not surprise her 26 million Instagram followers, for whom she posted a picture of herself digging into one. How partial didn't become clear until the recent revelation that she eats 'three or four' a day. 'It's not about wanting to look younger,' says Victoria, suggesting that the fats avocados contain can improve skin.DOES IT WORK? Yes, in that eating enough fat ensures skin and hair stays healthy, and fats found in avocados are monounsaturated, so can lower cholesterol levels. But four a day? 'A whole fruit has about 200-300k cal,' says dietitian Anna Daniels, 'so if you are trying to lose weight, watch out for the energy contribution.'a morning SIP of CIDER VINEGAR ADVICE to — literally — leave a funny taste in the mouth, but which Victoria espoused  on Instagram in 2017, urging her followers  to: 'Be brave! Two tbsp first thing on an  empty tummy!'Her top morning tipple is Bragg Organic Apple Cider Vinegar — a raw, unfiltered, unpasteurised and gluten-free concoction (£10.99, Holland & Barrett). The habit is reported to control blood sugar levels and aid weight loss. Film star Jennifer Aniston and singer Katy Perry are fellow devotees.DOES IT WORK? Not necessarily in the way figure-conscious stars would hope. 'Apple cider vinegar is a fermented food and may contain beneficial gut bacteria to help digestion,' says Daniels, adding:  'There is mixed evidence on its role in controlling blood sugar levels and no robust evidence on its role in weight loss. In excess, its high level of acetic acid can erode tooth enamel.'RAW FISH TO REFUELVictoria's hemlines might have risen higher and lower than a Spice Girls chorus and her hair style changed with every passing year, but one aspect of Victoria's life remains constant: her love of sushi. 'I love Japanese food, lots of fish,' she said back in 2006, while sushi was still reported to be a Beckham family favourite in a 2014 interview with Vogue magazine. DOES IT WORK? Yes. 'The Japanese have a healthy diet. Sashimi (raw fish) and sushi (raw fish or vegetables wrapped in rice) are low in fat and energy and contain healthy fats,' says Daniels, who adds that another benefit is the absence of processed foods many Western diets contain. However, unexpected sugar is sometimes added to sushi rice and, warns Daniels: 'Be careful not to overdo it on the soy sauce if you're watching your blood pressure, as it is very high in salt.' OVER THE MOON ABOUT WATERAT A £3,000-a-week German detox spa, Posh sipped 'moon water' that supposedly has 'energetic properties' on account of being bottled on the day of a full moon. Victoria told her Instagram followers the £8-a-bottle drink is 'a special water collected in Munich on ... Where am I going to get this when I leave Germany?'DOES IT WORK? Does it heck. 'While it is important for healthy skin to drink plenty of fluids, moon water has no proven benefits or evidence behind it,' says Daniels. 'That said, it can't do you any harm — after all, it is just water.' VICTORIA has endorsed a book dedicated to an alkaline diet — a low-acidity regime high in green vegetables and devoid of dairy and meat intended to achieve optimal pH balance in the body, aiding weight loss. DOES IT WORK? No. Says Daniels: 'More veg is a good thing, but the pH of your food will not impact on the pH of your blood. The body is capable of keeping its blood in a specific pH range.'tEQUILA tipple to DriNK ... and eatIF LAST month's picture of Victoria leaving London's Harry's Bar restaurant with bleary eyes is anything to go by, she enjoys the odd drink, and claims she likes that tipple to be clear, sipping Tequila. Further testament was revealed in her Instagram picture of a packet of 'tequila and lime-cooked jumbo prawns' from fashionable London health store Whole Foods Market.DOES IT WORK? Tequila is lower in calories per serving than wine and is distilled from agave (a low-sugar plant), so is naturally sweet and gluten-free. 'A small shot — if she sticks to that — is fine,' says Daniels.celebrating with a truly FRUITy Cake It APPEARS there's no sponge for Victoria, alas. She celebrated her 38th birthday not with a cake but a fruit platter at fancy Los Angeles restaurant Nobu Matsuhisa and, last March, posted a picture of herself cutting a slice of a whopping candle-topped watermelon confection to mark her 44th. She later clarified that the watermelon was only her 'breakfast cake' and that her  sons had also decorated her a conventional version.  DOES IT WORK? If you don't mind your celebratory diet served with an unending slice of self-deprivation. 'Yes, fruit is certainly a healthier option than a sugar-laden cake,' says Daniels. 'But once a year a slice of cake is fine. All in moderation. It's your birthday, enjoy some cake, Victoria!'Victoria is a big believer in swallowing vitamin supplements, to the tune of a staggering 62 different types a day. In an interview with Vogue in 2014, she revealed that the bee pollen (yes really) she consumes contains 22 amino acids, 12 vitamins and 28 minerals, quipping: 'We can't have wrinkles!'DOES IT WORK? Debatable. Evidence is still being 'determined,' as to any anti-ageing benefits of supplements, says Daniels, who adds that 'what we eat and drink is far more beneficial. Victoria can get all of the nutrients she needs from a nutrient dense diet'. Plus, she warns: 'There are many quack products that won't do anything except cost you a small fortune and many "studies" done to promote them have been funded by the companies that sell the products.' Pecking on a SEEDY SNACKVICTORIA revealed in 2017 she feeds her children sunflower seeds and pine nuts, coated in liquid amino acids, for an after-school snack. Posting a picture of Bragg Liquid Aminos (£7.99, Holland & Barrett) she wrote: 'Seeds doused in organic Aminos! Grilled until crispy! After school snack! Good for mummy too!' She also snacks on kale crisps: 'By roasting it, it completely changes and goes all crispy and crunchy.' DOES IT WORK? Says Daniels: 'The protein content of sunflower seeds has all the essential amino acids, which serve functions such as helping build muscle. If you snack on kale you're consuming more nutrients, but they contain fat and salt from the cooking process.'SALMON FOR SMOOTH SKINVictoria claimed unorthodox advice from celebrity dermatologist Dr Harold Lancer stopped her getting adult acne. 'I used to have really problematic skin and he said to me: "You have to eat salmon every single day,"?' she recalls. It will add a little variety to her hefty avocado allowance, at least.DOES IT WORK? 'Eating salmon daily would be a fine dietary addition. As an oily fish it contains many properties which are good for the heart and omega 3, which is good for skin health,' says Daniels. 'However other fish such as mackerel and kippers are also oily and I'd encourage eating a wider variety for sustainability. As Victoria is very influential, I recommend she switches it up.'the monster SMOOTHIE that's simply groaning with greensNot content with knocking back vinegar first thing, Victoria complements her morning routine with a breakfast smoothie made from a liquidised mix of apples, kiwi, lemon, spinach, broccoli and chia seeds. 'The green monster for the Beckhams!' was the 2017 Instagram caption of her Nutribullet blender in action. The same year she also uploaded a picture of a £7.35 box of Ezekiel 4:9 Original sprouted grain crunchy cereal, containing wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet and spelt, which Victoria says is 'perfect with organic unsweetened almond milk'.DOES IT WORK? 'A green smoothie is a tasty way to get a few portions of fruits and vegetables into your daily diet,' says Daniels, who explains that sprouted grains are essentially whole grains that haven't been stripped of their nutrients unlike many processed cereals: 'There is some evidence the sprouting process increases the nutrient content.'SUGAR-FREE SWEET TREATSVictoria mimics the joy of a sugar rush with a liquid sweetener she professed to being 'totally into' on Instagram last year, posting a picture of two calorie-free chocolate and caramel flavour Sweet Drops stevia sweeteners next to a coffee cup and asking: 'Anyone know where I can get them in London?' They're £5.99 on Amazon.Similarly effusive about frozen grapes, Posh said they have the taste and texture of ice cream.DOES IT WORK? 'A good alternative to sugar,' says Daniels, who advises, that no long-term studies have been conducted into side-effects of sweeteners. Frozen grapes, she adds, are 'a great snack. Grapes contain sugar but it is within the fibrous plant cell wall so is released slower into your bloodstream.' Hearty breakfast: Victoria Beckham, in her curlers, tucks into a nourishing meal of avocado and lemon

© Daily Mail

Oct 2 (Reuters) - Evogene Ltd:

* BIOMICA ANNOUNCES ADVANCEMENT TO PRE-CLINICAL STUDIES IN ITS INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE PROGRAM

* BIOMICA- PROGRAM AIMS TO DEVELOP A NOVEL MICROBIOME-BASED DRUG FOR IBD THAT TRIGGERS MULTIPLE MECHANISMS FOR REDUCTION OF INTESTINAL INFLAMMATION

* BIOMICA- LOOK FORWARD TO SHARING INITIAL RESULTS OF PRE-CLINICAL STUDIES ON INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE IN 2020 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:

* The Silicon Valley microbiome-testing startup uBiome filed for bankruptcy[https://www.businessinsider.com/cvs-pharmacy-halts-plans-sell-ubiome-poop-tests-stores-2019-9?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest] protection earlier this month after months of challenges and setbacks.

* Now, uBiome[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-poop-testing-startup-inside-story-what-happened-timeline-2019-5?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest] is shutting down.

* The startup is converting from chapter 11 to chapter 7 bankruptcy, which means it'll cease operations and liquidate, according to documents that Business Insider viewed.

* uBiome once convinced Silicon Valley that testing poop was worth $600 million[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-poop-testing-startup-inside-story-what-happened-timeline-2019-5?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest].

* But insiders previously told Business Insider they questioned the validity of the science[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-poop-testing-startup-problems-science-microbiome-2019-8?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest] behind its products.

After months of challenges and setbacks, the Silicon Valley health startup uBiome[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-what-we-know-microbiome-startup-fbi-raid-ceos-resigned-2019-7?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest] is shutting down.

The company could not extend the loans that had been funding its bankruptcy and is now appointing a trustee to oversee its liquidation, according to documents viewed by Business Insider. The plan still requires approval from the bankruptcy court.

"I have to share some bad news," uBiome said in an email to staff that was seen by Business Insider. "We will not be able to continue to operate as normal because we won't have the funding."

uBiome[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-poop-testing-startup-problems-science-microbiome-2019-8?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest] had previously filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, and was looking for a buyer to take over its assets, save jobs, and keep parts of the core business running. That is no longer happening. Instead, the company will close down.

uBiome confirmed the liquidation in a press release shortly after this story was written.

"Management and the independent directors of the Board of uBiome have determined that, without consensus among the Committee, the lenders and the Company, the conversion to a case under Chapter 7 is in the best interests of uBiome and its stakeholders," the release said.

Read more: uBiome convinced Silicon Valley that testing poop was worth $600 million. Then the FBI came knocking. Here's the inside story.[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-poop-testing-startup-problems-science-microbiome-2019-8?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

Court documents in uBiome's initial bankruptcy filing said the company may owe millions of dollars[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-bankruptcy-list-of-creditors-with-biggest-claims-2019-9?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest] to health insurance companies, and could also face criminal and civil penalties from ongoing investigations[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-poop-testing-startup-inside-story-what-happened-timeline-2019-5?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest] related to its billing practices.

The company laid off half its staff[https://www.businessinsider.com/poop-testing-startup-ubiome-is-laying-off-114-employees-2019-7?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest] this summer. In addition, insiders told Business Insider that the company's key science was flawed[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-poop-testing-startup-problems-science-microbiome-2019-8?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest] from the start, prompting the company to start an internal investigation.[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-poop-testing-startup-problems-science-microbiome-2019-8?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest] A top science journal where uBiome published its basic research is also investigating.

uBiome raised more than $100 million from some of Silicon Valley's top venture capital firms on the promise of providing new insights into the microbiome, the trillions of bacteria that live in and on each of us. The startup's main products evaluated an individual's microbiome using a sample of their poop.

NOW WATCH: This summer may be hotter than you expect. Here's how hot it will get in every state.[https://www.businessinsider.com/summer-weather-forecast-temperature-prediction-hot-noaa-2019-6?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

See Also:

* Bankrupt poop-testing startup uBiome just lost the government approval that's required to run key tests[https://www.businessinsider.com/poop-testing-startup-ubiome-loses-lab-certification-2019-9?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

* $2.8 billion pharmacy startup GoodRx just got into the business of prescribing medications, and it shows how a long-hyped technology is taking off in healthcare[https://www.businessinsider.com/healthcare-startups-like-goodrx-are-adding-telemedicine-service-2019-9?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

* Retailers from Amazon to CVS are pushing deeper into healthcare. Now, Sam's Club wants to sell you cheaper care — and it shows that the healthcare wars are heating up.[https://www.businessinsider.com/sams-club-partners-with-humana-to-offer-cheaper-healthcare-services-2019-9?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

SEE ALSO: uBiome insiders say key science at the buzzy startup was flawed from the start. Now, the company and a top science journal are investigating.[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-poop-testing-startup-problems-science-microbiome-2019-8?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

DON'T MISS: uBiome convinced Silicon Valley that testing poop was worth $600 million. Then the FBI came knocking. Here's the inside story.[https://www.businessinsider.com/ubiome-poop-testing-startup-inside-story-what-happened-timeline-2019-5?utm_source=dowjones&utm_medium=ingest]

Jess Norby is delivering a Saturday sermon of sorts.

Her church? A windowless yoga studio heated to 88 degrees in Charlottesville.

Twenty-seven cross-legged congregants are sweating on their mats as she shares a story that sounds uniquely millennial about skipping drinks with a friend and feeling guilty about it. She closes with a broad message meant to address her guilt and whatever anyone in the room is worried about at that moment: "You," she says, pausing, "are enough."

Soft electro-pop begins pulsing through the studio's speakers.

Choose an affirmation, she instructs. What do you want to be today?

Her students inhale on the beat, and exhale.

Norby was born and raised in Springfield, Va. Her parents emigrated from Vietnam as refugees and met in the United States. After they married in 1988, they had Norby and named her after the actress Jessica Lange. Her sister Catherine followed in 1993. When their parents divorced a year later, she and Catherine lived with their dad in Virginia and spent weekends with their mom in Washington, D.C.

Growing up, Norby recalls feeling self-conscious about a number of things: her surname at the time (Dang) and her family's food (heavy on the fish sauce). But her introverted personality gave her the most anxiety.

"I never was the life of the party or the center of discussion," she says. "Even now, I don't tend to be the one telling the long story with all eyes and ears on me."

Yoga has allowed her to role play as an extrovert. At 29, the yoga instructor, personal trainer and social media consultant can be the only voice heard in a crowded room for an hour. She can take that attention and direct it right back in the form of affirmations.

At FlyDog Yoga in Charlottesville, where Norby teaches a power vinyasa class twice a week, she selects a theme for every gathering. Some days, her practice is centered on a quote from the Instagram-famous poet Rupi Kaur. Other times, it's a lesson gleaned from her own life, which she knows may not resonate with everyone.

"When you share parts of yourself, people are always going to be like, that was weird. Or that's a dumb story."

"The older I get," she reflects, "the less I care."

It was during yoga training in her mid-20s when Norby says she realized she was a bit of a people-pleaser. Now, the mindfulness associated with the practice has allowed her internally to quiet the voices of others and focus on herself.

Although she says she places less stock in others' opinions, Norby is pursuing a career in social media consulting - an industry reliant on approval from strangers.

Last year, she turned down a full-time social media position at a start-up specializing in gut-health supplements to focus on her consulting business. She took a break from her personal Instagram account and started posting on her business page with paragraphs-long captions, punctuated by the occasional emoji and a small army of hashtags.

Being an independent consultant gives her "autonomy and freedom," something she craves in a career because one day she plans to start a family with her husband, Ray, whom she met in high school chorus and started dating after a school trip to Nashville.

Although other women she knows in the small-business community encourage her to dream big, she says she steers clear of the myth of "having it all."

"There's no such thing as balance," Norby says.

As a child, she memorized the words to songs by the Spice Girls, but to her, the "girl power" messages of the '90s weren't anything more than lyrics. As she grew older, feminism as a political movement seemed extreme. It wasn't until 2018, when her friends began talking about how the world perceived them more as objects than as people that she found she could relate.

Little by little, Norby's feminism developed. Not because of national politics, she says, but through personal experiences. She started to view these every day grievances as symptoms of society's structural ills.

When Ray was interviewing for his medical residency, a family member urged her to support him by ironing his clothes.

"That's not my job," she says with a laugh. "I have a job."

Ray didn't hear the directive to iron his shirts, but when he found out about it later, it didn't surprise him, he says, given the traditional mind-set of some of their relatives.

"She works on her business late into the evening every night," Ray says. "People assume that because I'm the medical resident, I'm the one working hard. But they don't realize how much that puts on her and that she works just as hard as I do."

Although her feminism developed internally, outside events have forced Norby to confront other issues she never seriously considered.

A devout Catholic until last year, she has "done a 180" on her stance on same-sex marriage and has softened her views on abortion.

"I definitely support people having choices and having control over that," she says. "I don't know if I'm 110 percent pro-choice, but I'm not pro-life anymore."

After news broke regarding sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, the church she used to attend in Charlottesville sent a letter to its members inviting them to join in prayer.

"It rubbed me the wrong way that the solution was to pray," she says. "Shouldn't there be more action? A person to call? A petition to sign?"

In 2017, when white nationalists protested the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville, her home of six years, Norby was vacationing in Italy. She cried in the check-in line at the airport as she read the news. She felt angry, then hopeless.

She knew that if she had been in town, she would not have marched with the counterprotesters, as safety would have been a concern. But, she says, she wanted to learn more.

Returning to her "somber, heavy" city, she learned that Charlottesville had been one of the last jurisdictions in the nation to integrate its public schools; African American residents were pushed out of her city; the roads she drives on - now marked with signs that say "Love not hate!" - were paved through the neighborhoods of black families.

Ray recalls that when he and Jess were younger, she didn't go out of her way to learn about politics and current events, but "she's really into that now, and she does actively seek it out and tries to educate herself."

She's learning, Norby says, but she knows learning isn't physical action. And there are so many things she is already trying to understand about herself.

"I feel like I could still do more, but this is a start," she says.

As a child, she says, she defined adulthood by major milestones: college, work, marriage, parenthood. So far, her life has followed that traditional path. She has arrived into adulthood, even though she says she sometimes feels squarely in the middle of her "fresh, early" 20s and her "unapologetic, comfortable" 30s.

Today, she doesn't see herself through the lens of race, faith or gender. She identifies less with how the world sees her and more with whom she wants to become: a small-business owner.

"I think when people first meet her and don't know her super well, she comes across as a nice, put-together person," says Ray. "But there's more to her than meets the eye. She works incredibly hard at everything she does. … I don't mean to put her on a pedestal, but from what I've seen of her, she's all those things."

The two hope to have children in the coming years, and at some point Ray's job might require a big move. But regardless of which milestone comes next for Norby, be it personal or professional, she will know how to caption it on Instagram.

She is enough.

Update: At time of print, Norby is pregnant with her first child.

When Bill Robertson, a soil scientist at the University of Arkansas, wants to check whether a field is healthy, he doesn't reach for some high-tech gadget. He grabs a pair of men's 100 percent cotton underwear.

"I call it the 'Soil Your Undies' test," he said, describing how he buries the underwear two to four inches deep, leaving the waistband showing so he can find them and dig them up five weeks later.

"Soil creatures - bacteria, fungi and nematodes - eat cellulose, and those briefs are basically cellulose," Robertson explained. "If that soil is alive then, after five weeks, [the underwear] should fall apart like a wet newspaper." If, on the other hand, the soil isn't thriving, then what is left is a dirty, but intact, set of briefs.

Until recently, Robertson said, most agricultural experts thought of soil as nothing more than a matrix to hold plants and minerals. But the same technologies that have allowed us to better understand the bacteria and fungi that make up our microbiome have led to breakthroughs in soil science.

And what they are showing is that those underwear-munching microbes play key roles in preventing soil erosion, conserving water and breaking down environmental pollutants. They also capture and store atmospheric carbon - which might help fight climate change.

If this were all soil microbes did, they would clearly be central to our well-being and survival on this planet. But emerging research suggests that the soil microbiome might have an even more direct effect on our health by communicating directly with our own cells and by boosting the nutrient content of our food.

"For a long time, [scientists] have been obsessed with the idea is that there are things in the soil that are trying to kill us," said Rob Knight, a microbiologist at University of California at San Diego who studies communities of microbes, including those that typically live in soil and those that inhabit our bodies. He mentioned several disease-causing soil dwellers, including tetanus, that are often held up as proof that soil is a dangerous place.

But recently, Knight said, scientists have begun to abandon their "war metaphor." Instead, they are exploring ways that microbes in the soil might protect us.

He gave the example of Mycobacterium vaccae, a benign soil-dwelling bacteria that was first identified on the shores of Lake Kyoga in Uganda in the 1970s. Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have observed that heat-killed M. vaccae has immune-modulating and mood altering properties when it is injected into experimental mice. While the studies have yet to be replicated in humans, the thinking is that M. vaccae, along with a host of other microbes that live in soil and the natural environment, co-evolved with us and have the power to communicate with our own cells.

Hunt for the 'right microbes'

Donata Vercelli, professor of cellular and molecular medicine at the University of Arizona, also studies how these ancient microbes affect our health.

Her interest was sparked about a decade ago when she learned that farm children in Germany had lower rates of allergy and asthma than their counterparts raised in urban areas. She joined a multinational research team to understand what was behind this phenomenon.

"What we are discovering is that living in these traditional farming environments means living in a place that is extremely rich in microbes - the right microbes that our immune system has evolved to live with and learn from," Vercelli said.

She explained that the constellation of organisms found in soil and on farm animals programs how a child responds to allergens throughout her lifetime. This programming probably starts in utero and continues to shape the immune system during the first few years of life.

Soil microbes help regulate our emotions and immune response. And they also play a key role in determining the nutrient content of our food.

"For centuries, people have had this idea of the 'good earth,' " Cornell plant scientist Jenny Kao-Kniffin said. She studies the underground interactions that take place between soil microbes and the roots of plants, a zone she refers to as the phytobiome.

"This could be the next frontier in nutrition science," said Kao-Kniffin, explaining how plants secrete compounds to feed nearby microbes and, in exchange, the microbes enable plants to capture essential nutrients (such as nitrogen) and manufacture a series of chemicals called phytonutrients or antioxidants.

These chemicals protect plants from pests and other stressors; they also give fruits and vegetables their color, smell and distinctive flavor. Research shows that these same chemicals directly benefit us by stimulating our immune system, regulating our hormones and slowing the growth of human cancer cells.

Kao-Kniffin's most recent finding is that soil with a diverse microbial community promotes plant growth while soil with more homogeneous microbial makeup suppresses growth.

Throughout most of his career, Robert Beelman has focused his research on quantifying the antioxidant content of plants and describing how these nutrients affect our own cells. But recently, Beelman, an emeritus professor of food science at Pennsylvania State University, took an unorthodox step for a nutrition researcher by expanding his investigation to include soil.

"We all say that healthy soil equals healthy people," said Beelman, "but the truth is that we are still blowing smoke and we need to do more research to investigate this idea."

"I got to wondering," he added. "Have our modern agricultural practices been screwing up the fungal and bacterial populations in the soil to the point where the amount of [nutrients] in our diet has been compromised?"

To pursue this question, Beelman decided to focus on one antioxidant, l-ergothioneine - which he refers to as "Ergo."

This is an interesting nutrient because it is only made by soil fungi and certain soil-borne bacteria, while several lines of evidence suggest that Ergo is an important nutrient for humans: Ergo deficiency might predispose us to inflammation and premature aging. Mushrooms, the fruits of fungi, are by far our best dietary source of Ergo, but it is also found in many plants, including oats.

The trouble with tillage

Beelman teamed up with the nearby Rodale Institute, an agricultural research center in Kutztown, Pa., to trace Ergo from field to plate. First, they planted oats in the different farm plots, each plot under a different kind of experimental farm management. Then they harvested the grains and sent them to Beelman's lab to measure the Ergo levels.

"Tillage made the biggest difference," said Beelman, jumping to the punchline. Tillage is essentially plowing without turning the soil over. For centuries, farmers have tilled to eliminate weeds, bury the remnants of old crops and prepare the ground for planting - but newer research suggests that disturbing the top layer of soil destroys microbial populations and contributes to soil erosion.

Indeed, oats grown in the "no-till" fields had 25 percent more Ergo than their counterparts in tilled soil, and the soil in the no-till field also had more Ergo. Beelman said he believes this is because tillage disrupts networks of bacteria and fungi.

Andrew Smith, lead scientist at Rodale, said the Ergo study aligns with other results showing that farming practices that protect topsoil also produce a greater diversity and density of soil microbes and plants with a higher concentration of antioxidants.

"This makes sense," he added, echoing Kao-Kniffin's finding that plants manufacture these compounds in consort with microbes.

Predictably, in response to promising research linking "health" and soil microbes, soil-inspired probiotics are flooding the market. These products claim to contain earthy organisms that will protect us from disease and enhance growth and development.

Vercelli said she believes that it is far too early to be touting products for human health - we are just beginning to understand how these invertebrates work together and how they interact with their environment. Plus, she wonders if the symphony is more important than any lone player.

"There is a tendency to try and identify individual microbes that are responsible for this and for that," she said. "I do not think that is a realistic way of going about this. Microbes operate in communities and they work together."

In the realm of plant health, Kao-Kniffin also thinks that group dynamics are more important than the effects of specific microbes. "The current industry focus on examining single microbial isolate effects on plant traits will be replaced with more emphasis on complex interactions involving multiple players."

Accordingly, Knight is involved in an effort to bank ancient soils - just as we are banking ancient seeds - so that these combinations of microbes are on hand to protect us at some future date when we are better equipped to understand how they work.

Meanwhile, he said, "let's stop practices that are bad for the soil and start doing all those things that we know preserve topsoil and preserve invertebrate biodiversity."

Knight listed the same soil-conserving practices that Smith is studying at Rodale, practices labeled "organic," but more accurately described as "regenerative" or "beyond organic" because they adhere to the Agriculture Department's definition of organic farming (no antibiotics, synthetic pesticides and herbicides), and also include rotating crops and grazing animals, feeding the soil with cover crops - plants grown to keep the soil covered offseason - and compost, conserving water, and minimizing tillage.

Robertson sums it up nicely: "Soil health is public health."

He wants consumers and policymakers to support soil conserving practices and farmers to adopt these practices. He sees the soil health movement gaining ground nationwide but says there is still a lot of room for improvement. (In my home state of California, for example, less than 4 percent of the cropland is managed with cover crops.)

"When it comes to making change, most of us are from Missouri, you gotta 'show me,' " Robertson said.

And this is where the "Soil Your Undies" test comes in.

Once we see that invisible underground creatures can disassemble a pair of underwear in a matter of weeks, perhaps we are more inspired to protect them.

health-science@washpost.com

Daphne Miller is a family physician, clinical professor at University of California at San Francisco, and author of "Farmacology: Total Health From the Ground Up."

The common misconception that heart attacks just affect men is leading to a huge gender gap in the way women are diagnosed and treated, according to new research funded by the British Heart Foundation. “There is an ongoing myth that heart disease is a man’s disease,” Barbara Kobson, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, says. “It means that women have a low awareness of their risk and symptoms.”

The stark inequalities have led to an estimated 8,200 women dying over a ten-year period in England and Wales, the study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association[https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.119.012307] found. Due a combination of lack of awareness and factors like delayed diagnosis and treatment, twice as many women die from coronary heart disease - the underlying cause of most heart attacks – than breast cancer in the UK, according to the BHF.

It’s sometimes wrongly supposed that women have ‘atypical’ symptoms. But the new research shows that actually women experience the same key symptoms as men, with chest pain reported as the most common symptom for 93 per cent of both sexes, along with a pain that radiated to their left arm (48 per cent of men and 49 per cent of women).

“One of the most important things when we talk about heart disease and heart attack is to know that while the symptoms can vary from person to person, research shows there is no difference between men and women,” Kobson says. “There are key ones to look out for, including a pain in the chest.”

She says that it is crucial to act quickly in the event of a heart attack. “The more time we waste, the more muscle we lose which can lead to a cardiac arrest. It’s vital that we help people recognise symptoms of a heart attack, but also the risks that could lead to one.”

Telegraph 365 newsletter REFERRAL (article)[https://cf-particle-html.eip.telegraph.co.uk/40cd8a66-f5fa-4b01-828e-6ab606701740.html]

Here are the five key things that women need to know about their hearts – and how to protect themselves from heart disease...

Heart attacks are not just a male - or an age - problem

The BHF says that heart attacks are often seen as a disease primarily affecting men, but women suffer from them too. In fact, around 35,000 women are admitted to hospital following a heart attack in the UK each year.

What compounds the problem is that certain risk factors for heart disease are often more deadly for women. Smoking increases a women's risk of heart attack by almost double that of a man’s, while high blood pressure increases a women’s chance of heart attack by 80 per cent more, and type 2 diabetes increases women’s risk 50 per cent more.

“Heart attacks can affect any women of any age,” Kobson says, “But it’s really important that women are aware that certain factors can increase the risk. The NHS offers free health checks to those over 40, and we really advise women to book in for one, so they can assess their own risk factors.”

The midlifer mental load may play a part

A common midlifer problem is the amount of caring responsibilities of both younger and older generations, plus often a job on top, which can lead to huge amounts of stress. Research for the NHS Information Centre, by the National Centre for Social Research and the University of Leicester found that instances of reported feelings of depression and anxiety had increased by a fifth in those aged 45-64.

Which can have an affect on heart health. “Stress is important to heart health,” Kobson says. “It’s not a direct cause of heart attacks, but indirectly, if we experience a period of prolonged stress and don’t manage that, certain factors including high blood pressure along with eating unhealthily, can add in to our risk.”

The menopause affects heart health

Women’s hormones help protect them against heart attacks – until the menopause. Oestrogen, the hormone which regulates a menstrual cycle, also helps to control cholesterol[https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/risk-factors/high-cholesterol] levels, which in turn helps protect against fatty plaques building up inside the artery walls. But during and post menopause, as the body produces less oestrogen, the risk from coronary heart disease rises and continues to rise according to the BHF. Additional factors include increased weight gain and not doing enough physical activity – something that often affects midlifers.

Some women worry that Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) can increase the risk of potentially lethal blood clots. Yet recent evidence shows that those taking HRT do not have an increased risk of dying from a heart attack.

Kobson says that the menopause does present “an increased risk”, but she stresses that women “should focus on the big picture and look at all the risk factors, and how to prevent them.”

Women don’t eat enough fibre - and there's a heart/gut connection

What goes on in your gut has a direct impact your heart health. New research published earlier this year in The Journal of Physiology looked at how gut bacteria might preserve artery health. “The trillions of bacteria that reside in the lower part of your intestine play a crucial role in looking after your heart,” Dr Megan Rossi, gut health specialist and author of the book Eat Yourself Healthy: An easy-to-digest guide to health and happiness from the inside out, confirms.

A key way to improve the gut/heart health axis is to eat more fibre: something women are often bad at. While both men and women are recommended to eat around 30g a day, women only eat around 17g per day, while men eat slightly more at 20g per day, according to the British Nutrition Foundation.

It’s important because “fibre is food for our microbes, human cells can’t digest it,” Dr Rossi says. “A large review paper published in the Lancet showed that feeding your gut microbes an extra 8g of fibre per day is linked with an 19 per cent lower risk of heart disease.” She says it’s a relatively easy dietary tweak: “8g of fibre is the equivalent of a pear and handful of nuts, or a can of legumes.”

At a glance | Why lack of sleep is bad for your health[https://cf-particle-html.eip.telegraph.co.uk/2ed5bcd5-4cb7-45f2-953b-c5bc733f3e03.html]

That weekly spin class isn’t just for millennials – it’s essential for heart health

With the rise of boutique gyms it’s never been easier or more luxurious to work out. But almost half of Brits over 55 don’t think that exercise is important to their health, according to research earlier this year by Nuffield Health.

They’re wrong – specifically for heart health. Exercise can halve the risk of a heart attack in healthy people, according to research published earlier this year in the European Heart Journal. The study, which analysed the cardiorespiratory fitness of more than 4,500 people, 50 per cent of which were women, found a correlation between increasing fitness levels and increased levels of coronary health. Moreover, researchers found even a small improvement in cardiorespiratory fitness saw significant benefits for heart health, leading doctors to suggest that exercise should be used as preventative heart care.

Kobson agrees. “There are a number of lifestyle factors that can help with heart health and help to prevent heart attacks, and exercise is one of them. We recommend that 150 mins moderate exercise a week can help.”

Signs and symptoms of a heart attack in women:

Heart attack symptoms can vary but the most common signs of a heart attack are:

* Chest pain or discomfort in your chest that suddenly occurs and doesn't go away.

* A pain that spreads to your left or right arm or may spread to your neck, jaw, back or stomach.

* Feeling sick, sweaty, light-headed or short of breath.

Chest pain should never be ignored. If you are experiencing any of the above symptoms dial 999 immediately.

To learn more about heart attack symptoms[https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/conditions/heart-attack/symptoms], visit British Heart Foundation[https://www.bhf.org.uk/]

The habits of today's NHLers are alien to their predecessors. Old-time players reached for a smoke between periods and beers after a win. Water breaks at practice were rewards, not required. The league was running on steak and potatoes.

“I don't remember diet being a consideration at all," said Rick Middleton, who retired as a Bruin in 1988.

Had “Nifty" played today, he might grab a breakfast of avocado and egg whites at the Bruins' spiffy practice palace, Warrior Ice Arena. After a workout, he would shed his wearable performance monitor and down a recovery smoothie of plant protein and antioxidant-laden berries. He might tuck into a lunch of spaghetti squash with pumpkin seeds and portobello mushrooms.

As training has evolved to the point where technical skills coaches use high-speed video to shape once-informal summer workouts, NHL teams provide their most important employees with high-performance fuel. The Bruins, though they are trying to reach the Stanley Cup Final for the fourth time in a decade, have only recently caught their peers in this area.

They moved into Warrior in 2016, after nearly 30 years practicing at Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington. Their new digs have all the amenities modern NHLers expect: a tech-loaded weight room and indoor speed track, hot and cold tubs for recovery, an underwater treadmill, a cushy player lounge. They began hiring more trainers and an analytics department, both new NHL standards.

The kitchen is their area of recent progress. Though many NHL teams already had dietitians on the payroll, the Bruins didn't have one until 2015, when they hired Julie Nicoletti of Westwood-based Kinetic Fuel. They made Keith Garman their first team chef last season, and made him full-time this year. The pair has helped change attitudes.

“When I first started, pregame meal was a lot of steak, mashed potatoes, and pasta," Nicoletti said. “If we put that out there now, there would be a huge rebellion.

“And knowing what we know, that it takes longer for red meat to digest, that's not what we'd want the players to have. We're armed with more information. The players are more receptive to it. They know it makes a difference."

Garman, formerly of Cambridge's Alden & Harlow restaurant, prepares breakfast and post-practice lunches, plus meals before and after games. Nicoletti learns every player's likes and dislikes, and suggests what food, and when, might offer the most benefit. Young prospects are taught how to shop at their first development camp so they can focus on learning the Bruins' system, rather than fretting about an upset stomach. They often text photos of their meals to Nicoletti to check.

Garman's dishes help introduce unfamiliar foods such as baby bok choy, turnips, and spaghetti squash. The spinach and strawberry salad is high in antioxidants. The chicken soup has bone broth, which helps connective tissue and gut health. During flu season, players can down a Vitamin C-packed “immunity shot" of ginger, clementine, and beet juice. Dark, leafy greens abound.

“There's intention to every single ingredient," Nicoletti said. “It reinforces the culture that we've created, which is: You take care of yourself. It's non-negotiable."

This has been a fairly recent development leaguewide. In the late 1990s, the Bruins handed their prospects an offseason training guide, which included plans for low-cost healthy eating. It recommended pancakes, French toast, waffles, and muffins for breakfast. Top toast with jelly instead of butter or cream cheese. Pizza for lunch? Of course, but with onions and peppers, not hamburg and sausage.

That was health food compared with Middleton's day, when few players even lifted weights.

“The first time we were even tested, early in the season with the Rangers in 1975, we were in a room with some treadmill," Middleton recalled. “Peter Stemkowski was on the treadmill with a hose coming out of his mouth. Someone came into the room and tripped over the cord, and the treadmill stopped. He kept going. He ran right into the wall."

In a letter dated Aug. 2, 1962, Toronto coach Punch Imlach laid out his requirements for training camp They were strict, as they should have been for the defending Stanley Cup champions. Imlach demanded his players show up no more than 7 pounds overweight, and able to do at least 20 pushups, 20 situps, and 30 knee bends.

“Golf will be a must in the training camp schedule," Imlach added, noting that arrangements had been made for the team at a local country club.

Aside from a few light weeks after the season ends, modern NHLers train almost daily, depending on their carefully managed schedules. Back then, players got into shape during five weeks of training camp, skating twice a day. Middleton warmed up for games by playing in the game.

“Stretch the groins out, but don't go full speed," he said. “You don't want to pull anything. Later in the '80s, we did some stretching on the ice, especially in training camp."

It makes today's players go bug-eyed when they hear such old tales. Mike Boyle, whom the Bruins made their first strength coach in 1990, said he had to advise then-coach Mike Milbury that “trying to rehydrate with beer wasn't a great strategy."

Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy, 54, remembered walking into the restroom between periods of his first NHL game in 1984 and seeing seven of his Blackhawks teammates puffing away.

“That's just wild," Torey Krug said. “Even if you're around smoke now, the next day you feel awful."

The defenseman has been using plant-based supplements since he turned pro in 2012. He is “flirting" with the idea of being vegan, though he admits a fondness for cheese pizza. He loads his plate with fresh veggies, grains, and legumes. His energy levels have never been higher.

“When you learn a little more, it opens your eyes," he said. “You want to learn more about how you're fueling yourself. I've gone from somewhat aware to extremely aware. It's part of the job."

Follow Matt Porter on Twitter at @mattyports.

Credit: By Matt Porter Globe Staff

Susan MacTavish Best, who organizes elaborate dinner parties in her SoHo loft, gets the day started by running 14 miles. And ice cream.

''There's a huge hunger among people to connect in real time and to look in people's eyes,'' said Susan MacTavish Best, the founder of Posthoc, a salon series with notable speakers, home-cooked meals and music presented in the SoHo loft where she also lives. ''The city can be lonely,'' she said. ''There's such a sense of community and warmth here. I want people to feel that.''

Past guest lecturers have included the film producer Barbara De Fina, the evolutionary ecologist Monica Gagliano and the writer Michael Pollan. Ms. MacTavish Best, 45, who worked for 20 years in public relations before starting her salons, is also an avid long-distance runner.

NATURAL RISE Waking up to an alarm makes me feel nauseous and reminds me of being in boarding school and waking up at 3 in the morning to study for a test. Sleep is super-important to me. I didn't sleep much in my 20 and 30s. I wake up around 6 or 7 a.m. and have learned not to make any important decisions unless I've had a good night sleep.

VISUALIZATION I think about my run up the West Side Highway. I appreciate being outdoors surrounded by nature and using my body. I couldn't do that for a while. In 2010 I was relighting a fire in my home and it backlit. I had second- and third-degree burns over 25 percent of my body, mostly on my chest and legs, which required skin grafts. I was in the hospital for six to eight weeks.

I was depressed for a couple of years, and I had to pull myself out of it. You can't run a business and be depressed. I've learned to be my own cheerleader and spend a lot of time in nature. It makes you appreciate being alive. That's probably why I run outside. It reminds you that you're just one small being in the world.

SOHO TO HARLEM I like to run on the High Line before people are on it. I treat it like it's my personal garden. At 125th Street I stop at Fairway and get an ice cream, anything with chocolate on the outside, and a coffee with heavy cream. By this point it's about 10 a.m. I've run nine or 10 miles and listened to a mix of different podcasts, dance music from Spain or the U.K., or if I'm preparing for a salon, I'll listen to something on that topic.

HARLEM TO INWOOD Things are getting busy. New York is waking up. After my first stop I go through Harlem, through the part right before the George Washington Bridge where there's this path and stone status. I love that there are parts of Manhattan where you can see something that's not man-made. I go by the Cloisters. At Fort Tryon Park I peel off the bike path and get another coffee because I've run 14 miles.

COOL DOWN I take the A express home. I get off at Canal Street and buy The Times, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal and a few foreign magazines at SoHo News and come home by noon. I shower, read and listen to more podcasts.

PICKLED I'll fry eggs or eat yogurt. I don't cook for myself, but love to cook for others. I might pop over to the Japanese supermarket on Broome Street and buy the kimchi. It's salty and really good and I can't stop eating it. Everyone is into pickled foods for gut health.

PROJECT For the past nine months my friend Doug has come over at 3 and we work on a fictionalized show we're writing about my experience in Silicon Valley. He's got the TV and film experience; I've got the stories. He leaves by 5.

INVENTORY If I'm hosting a salon that week I do all the cooking, so I'll get a huge delivery from FreshDirect because I'm feeding over 70 people. Fresh Direct offers farm boxes with random vegetables, so you don't know what's in it, which could mean I have an excess of something I don't know what to do with and I'll have to make up recipes on the spot.

NEIGHBOR HANG I'll take some of the food and at 6 make a chicken and salad for my neighbors. It's not a sit-down, but that's the joy of a big kitchen. It's super-informal. People are really busy; some have new babies, some were away for the weekend. They come and go.

PATCHWORK OF BOOKS I hop into bed at 11 and read again. Piles of books are everywhere. I don't believe you have to read one book at a time. I can be reading eight or 10 at once. What you want to read in the morning is not what you want to read at night. Currently I'm reading ''How to Be a Friend,'' by Marcus Tullius Cicero; a dictionary from my childhood to look up words; ''The Remains of the Day,'' by Kazuo Ishiguro; and a first edition of ''Trust Me'' by John Updike, whom I've never read. I'll read for 11 minutes and pass out.

Dark circles? New breakouts? Irritating redness? It could be that stress is taking its toll on your complexion. Maria Lally explains how this happens and reveals the best ways to beat it

THERE'S NO QUESTION that, as a nation, we're more stressed and anxious than ever. Last year, a study by the Mental Health Foundation revealed that 74 per cent of us have felt so stressed we were overwhelmed or unable to cope - and women seem to bear the brunt, with 81 per cent saying they felt this way compared to 67 per cent of men.

And we know this is bad for us: stress has been found to suppress the immune system and contribute to heart disease, poor gut health and insomnia.

But is there another, lesser-known effect?

'Stress is by far the single biggest factor for ageing skin and can affect its health and appearance,' says Shabir Daya, pharmacist and co-founder of Victoria Health. 'It dries and damages skin from the inside out. When we're stressed, our adrenal glands produce excessive amounts of the stress hormone cortisol, which results in a variety of health concerns including anxiety, weight gain and sleep disturbances.' And we're not just talking about lifechanging, stressful events here. 'That lowlevel, drip feed of daily stress can still impact skin,' explains holistic facialist Annee de Mamiel. 'Our brain doesn't know how to filter between the big, life-altering, stressful events, and, "Oh God, I got an angry email from my boss" stress. Our adrenal glands react in the same way and, over time, chronic, low-grade stress builds in our bodies and can lead to adrenal fatigue, which can result in exhaustion, brain fog, low mood and a feeling you're heading towards burnout. When we feel stressed, our body experiences 1,400 different physiological reactions, and we hold this in our gut, our heart, our shoulders, and our skin, too.'

How does anxiety affect skin?

'How doesn't it?' says Daya. 'Keratinocytes in the epidermis, the outer cell layers of skin, produce cortisol when we feel stressed. Cortisol is an inflammatory hormone and so, depending on your skin type, it can make your skin red, dry, wrinkled, tired-looking, reactive and sensitive, oily and acne-prone, or cause under-eye dark circles.

'Large quantities of cortisol cause elevated sugar levels in the bloodstream,' he continues, 'which results in by-products called advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which cause the destruction of both collagen and elastin. This results in loss of elasticity, while inflammation encourages fine lines and wrinkles.' And thin, crêpey skin around the eyes, too - because, according to Daya, increased cortisol also breaks down the thin tissues surrounding the eye area, making the tiny blood vessels around them more visible.

The visible signs of stressed skin 'When we become overly stressed, or feel low-level stress every day, our bodies go into fight-or-flight mode, and never get a chance to recover,' says Denise Leicester, a nurseturned-healer and founder of natural-remedy brand Ilapothecary (of which the Duchess of Sussex is a fan). 'This causes the sympathetic nervous system, which is the motivating one that wakes us up in the morning and gets us raring to go, to become over-stimulated. The parasympathetic nervous system is the rest-and-digest one, and you need to find a fine balance between the two.

'If the sympathetic nervous system goes into overdrive, you can end up run-down or even with adrenal fatigue. Your body then goes into lockdown, only looking after what it sees as essential organs - which isn't your skin, so it becomes depleted. The first sign is a darkening of the skin, like dark circles under the eyes. The next is dryness and redness.' Stressed skin is also more prone to blemishes: 'Extra cortisol makes our skin glands produce more oil, and oily skin is more prone to acne,' says Dr Galyna Selezneva of the Dr Rita Rakus Clinic in London's Knightsbridge. 'So if you're breaking out more than usual, it could be a sign of too much stress in your system.

'Stress also slows down healing, so breakouts and spots take longer to clear. And anxiety has a direct effect on more serious skin conditions, such as eczema and psoriasis.' How to de-stress your skin 'Start on the inside by stimulating your parasympathetic nervous system,' says Leicester. 'In the evenings, eat light, soak in a magnesium salt bath (which helps with adrenal fatigue), drink camomile tea, get to bed early, and focus on remaining calm. Save your stress for the day, when your sympathetic nervous system can deal with it.' As for skincare, Leicester advises going back to basics: 'When we look in our bathroom mirror and see the issues that stress creates in skin, it's tempting to bring in the big guns, like exfoliation, vitamin C, retinol or hyaluronic acid. However, you don't want powerful, active products, but rather nourishing and calming ones, like face oils and creams containing vitamins B or E, or rose. It's not about looking 10 years younger, but rather being kinder to both your skin and mind, so they calm down.' 'Lastly, work on your skin from the inside by turning your skincare routine into selfcare,' says de Mamiel, who is launching a new range of products for skin anxiety later this year. 'Before you apply your product, take a few deep breaths of the essential oils, which work on your limbic system to help bring down cortisol levels.' How to de-stress your workout 'When you're stressed, your muscles and posture become hunched and tight and your head goes forward. All of which is bad news for your skin because it reduces blood flow,' says personal trainer Dalton Wong, who works with Jennifer Lawrence and Olivia Colman.

'When people are stressed, they often turn to high-intensity workouts or long runs because they think this will de-stress them. However, the opposite is true - you end up running for your life, and the stress hormones keep getting pumped out. When you've had a bad day at work, choose calming workouts such as yoga, Pilates, walking or simple stretching, which will loosen your joints, elongate your muscles and take your body out of the fight-or-flight mode, which will benefit your skin. You can always burn calories another day.' Your stressedskin toolkit CBD Sleep Drops, £85, Rodial (rodial. co.uk) Unwind by massaging a few drops of this CBD oil - which also contains elasticityboosting collagen - into cleansed skin just before your night cream.

Protective Fortifying Cream, £115, Clé de Peau Beauté (harrods. com) This new range uses perilla-plant extract to help skin cells fight stress.

Magnesium and Amethyst Deep Relax Bath Soak, £35, Ilapothecary (ilapothecary.com) Magnesium deficiency is linked to stress and anxiety. 'Taking a long soak in this will help reduce stress hormones,' says the brand's founder, Denise Leicester.

Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate, £69, Shiseido (cultbeauty.co.uk) This defends skin from daily stressors and contains skin-strengthening ingredients such as reishi mushrooms and rose water.

Garden of Wisdom Neurophroline Serum, £18, Victoria Health (victoriahealth.com) This anti-inflammatory serum contains cortisol-reducing ingredients and softens dark under-eye circles.

Susan MacTavish Best, who organizes elaborate dinner parties in her SoHo loft, gets the day started by running 14 miles. And ice cream.

“There’s a huge hunger among people to connect in real time and to look in people’s eyes,” said Susan MacTavish Best, the founder of Posthoc[https://posthoc.com/], a salon series with notable speakers, home-cooked meals and music presented in the SoHo loft where she also lives. “The city can be lonely,” she said. “There’s such a sense of community and warmth here. I want people to feel that.”

Past guest lecturers have included the film producer Barbara De Fina[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0208381/], the evolutionary ecologist Monica Gagliano[https://www.monicagagliano.com/] and the writer Michael Pollan[https://michaelpollan.com/]. Ms. MacTavish Best, 45, who worked for 20 years in public relations before starting her salons, is also an avid long-distance runner.

NATURAL RISE Waking up to an alarm makes me feel nauseous and reminds me of being in boarding school and waking up at 3 in the morning to study for a test. Sleep is super-important to me. I didn’t sleep much in my 20 and 30s. I wake up around 6 or 7 a.m. and have learned not to make any important decisions unless I’ve had a good night sleep.

VISUALIZATION I think about my run up the West Side Highway. I appreciate being outdoors surrounded by nature and using my body. I couldn’t do that for a while. In 2010 I was relighting a fire in my home and it backlit. I had second- and third-degree burns over 25 percent of my body, mostly on my chest and legs, which required skin grafts. I was in the hospital for six to eight weeks.

I was depressed for a couple of years, and I had to pull myself out of it. You can’t run a business and be depressed. I’ve learned to be my own cheerleader and spend a lot of time in nature. It makes you appreciate being alive. That’s probably why I run outside. It reminds you that you’re just one small being in the world.

SOHO TO HARLEM I like to run on the High Line before people are on it. I treat it like it’s my personal garden. At 125th Street I stop at Fairway and get an ice cream, anything with chocolate on the outside, and a coffee with heavy cream. By this point it’s about 10 a.m. I’ve run nine or 10 miles and listened to a mix of different podcasts, dance music from Spain or the U.K., or if I’m preparing for a salon, I’ll listen to something on that topic.

HARLEM TO INWOOD Things are getting busy. New York is waking up. After my first stop I go through Harlem, through the part right before the George Washington Bridge where there’s this path and stone status. I love that there are parts of Manhattan where you can see something that’s not man-made. I go by the Cloisters. At Fort Tryon Park I peel off the bike path and get another coffee because I’ve run 14 miles.

COOL DOWN I take the A express home. I get off at Canal Street and buy The Times, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal and a few foreign magazines at SoHo News and come home by noon. I shower, read and listen to more podcasts.

PICKLED I’ll fry eggs or eat yogurt. I don’t cook for myself, but love to cook for others. I might pop over to the Japanese supermarket on Broome Street and buy the kimchi. It’s salty and really good and I can’t stop eating it. Everyone is into pickled foods for gut health.

PROJECT For the past nine months my friend Doug has come over at 3 and we work on a fictionalized show we’re writing about my experience in Silicon Valley. He’s got the TV and film experience; I’ve got the stories. He leaves by 5.

INVENTORY If I’m hosting a salon that week I do all the cooking, so I’ll get a huge delivery from FreshDirect because I’m feeding over 70 people. Fresh Direct offers farm boxes with random vegetables, so you don’t know what’s in it, which could mean I have an excess of something I don’t know what to do with and I’ll have to make up recipes on the spot.

NEIGHBOR HANG I’ll take some of the food and at 6 make a chicken and salad for my neighbors. It’s not a sit-down, but that’s the joy of a big kitchen. It’s super-informal. People are really busy; some have new babies, some were away for the weekend. They come and go.

PATCHWORK OF BOOKS I hop into bed at 11 and read again. Piles of books are everywhere. I don’t believe you have to read one book at a time. I can be reading eight or 10 at once. What you want to read in the morning is not what you want to read at night. Currently I’m reading “How to Be a Friend,” by Marcus Tullius Cicero; a dictionary from my childhood to look up words; “The Remains of the Day,” by Kazuo Ishiguro; and a first edition of “Trust Me” by John Updike, whom I’ve never read. I’ll read for 11 minutes and pass out.

These days, my friends and family call me The Compost Lady.

Spend any length of time with me and soil structure is bound to come up in conversation. Looking around at all the different bins and piles, you might be tempted to ask, "How did it come to this?" Much like turning food and yard waste into crumbly compost, the change didn't happen overnight.

Admittedly I was never totally green to the concept. My parents always kept an empty bucket under the sink for scraps. As thrifty farmers there was no way we were going to pass up a chance to make fertilizer rather than garbage. Throwing peels out felt quite unnatural to me, and my own ice cream pail followed me to university. This was still a strictly laissez-faire compost system - food waste went to a bin in the backyard, got ignored for years, and then whatever lumpy material eventually resulted went onto my landlord's tulips.

Things changed when I got involved with the Saskatoon Compost Coaches. The first shocking thing I learned was that whether bin or heap, compost needs a balance of "green materials" and "brown materials" to break down efficiently. These initially arcane categories turned out to actually be quite intuitive. Green materials include everything that is fresh and rots quickly, like food scraps, fresh plants and grass clippings. Brown materials are more fibrous and woody, like leaves, sawdust, newspaper or cardboard. Having a 50-50 balance of the two gives the compost microbes a tasty mix of energy from the greens and roughage from the browns. (It turns out even bacteria need fibre in their diet.)

I was similarly shocked to learn that I was supposed to water and stir. Compost microbes can't eat if their food is all dried out, or if they can't breathe. At first it felt strange standing over the bin with a watering can, but I quickly fell into a biweekly groove. I even bought a compost aerator tool - a long, skinny thing that fluffed compost much more easily than a shovel.

While this was falling into place, my next awakening was learning that not all compost takes place in a backyard. In fact, sometimes compost is made indoors using squirmy friends known as "red wiggler earthworms."

This method is great for apartments, classrooms and offices - as I found out when it became my job to babysit the office vermicompost bin over a break. I initially viewed the shallow tub with some suspicion and exiled it to the closet, but to my delight the earthworms proved to be perfect houseguests. They were very quiet, made no mess, and ate whatever was given to them without complaining. They even left me a gift - rich black compost. I've certainly had ruder roommates.

Meanwhile several months had passed, and the material in the bottom of my outdoor bin was looking (and smelling) surprisingly like soil. The softer items had disintegrated completely, and the tougher stuff like egg shells, peach pits and twigs were looking at least partly mellowed. My tomatoes were probably astonished to see such high-quality stuff.

The thrill of earthy success had me hooked now, and there was no turning back. Soil biology books spilled out of my backpack and YouTube videos of swimming protozoa and humus took over my laptop. I bought a compost thermometer to better keep tabs on what my microbiota were up to. My final step came when I learned about bokashi compost - an exotic two-part process that uses fermentation to tame the usually-forbidden oily foods like bones, dairy, and eggs. A fermenting pail joined the other bins and buckets of percolating organic matter at my house. My transformation into The Compost Lady was complete, and my garden had never been greener.

If you too would like to delight your plants and starve your garbage can, you can contact the Saskatoon Compost Coaches for a free workshop or home visit, and answers to all your composting questions. The Compost Coaches are reachable yearround by phone (306-931-3249), email (compost@swrc.ca), or Facebook (@SaskatoonCompostCoaches). This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com). Check our website (saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (facebook.com/saskperennial) for a list of upcoming gardening events: Drought Tolerant Perennials by Sara Williams - Oct. 23, 7:30 p.m. Emmanuel Anglican Church, 607 Dufferin Avenue, Saskatoon. Free and open to the public.

Winter is just around the corner, which means it’s time to start gathering all the soup recipes you want to try this year. One that should definitely top your list is vegan clam chowder. It’s rich, creamy and bursting with flavors of the sea. Even better, it’s packed with a ton of mood-boosting properties.

But first things first: Let’s talk about how it can be made in the first place. Clam chowder, after all, is not vegan. Traditional recipes are made with heavy dairy bases and, well, clams (aka, seafood, which vegans typically avoid). But we’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: If it can be made, it can be made vegan.

In this recipe, we’re swapping clams for mushrooms. Shiitake mushrooms have a meaty texture and satisfying umami flavor. In fact, they contain many of the same amino acids as meats.

As for the base, we’re opting for something a little out of the norm. Many vegans use cashews and other nuts to replace milk and cream in recipes, but we’re going with cauliflower. It provides a creamy texture without an overwhelming amount of fat or calories (but if you’re on a keto diet, hey, use all the nut milks you please!). To really get that clammy taste, we’re adding a few varieties of seaweed, which mimic the flavors of the sea.

So, if you’re a vegan and you miss shellfish, this dish will hit the spot. And if you’re not vegan, heck, you’ll love this vegan clam chowder just as much.

THE GOOD-FOR-YOUR-BRAIN INGREDIENTS

Before we get to the recipe, though, let’s dive into some of the key mood-boosting ingredients in this recipe and the role they play in mental health.

Shiitake mushrooms: Many varieties of mushrooms are adaptogens — foods and herbs that protect the body from the harmful effects of stress and support overall health, energy and mood. Usually found in medicinal mushrooms, these properties are also present in shiitake mushrooms. Adaptogens not only boost immunity and heart health, but also help reduce inflammation, which is believed to be a contributing factor in stress, anxiety and depression.

Carrots: Carrots contain magnesium, which facilitates hormone balance, enzyme activity and neurotransmitter functions that, in turn, help regulate mood. Carrots also contain phenylalanine, a deficiency of which can trigger anxiety, depression and body aches. Lots of vitamin B6 helps the body create mood-regulating neurotransmitters, too.

More: This Instant Pot pumpkin soup is a delicious vegan recipe for chilly days

Sea vegetables: Seaweed contains iodine and tyrosine, which support thyroid function. The thyroid gland releases hormones to help control growth, energy production, reproduction and cell repair. It relies on iodine to make hormones. Without enough iodine, you might experience symptoms such as weight fluctuation and fatigue. Tyrosine is used alongside iodine to make two key hormones that help the thyroid gland do its job properly. Seaweed is also a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, which help reduce inflammation and anxiety in test subjects.

Miso: This fermented soybean product contains probiotics, healthy bacteria that help maintain gut health. The gut has been called the “second brain,” because it produces many of the same neurotransmitters as the brain does, such as serotonin, dopamine and gamma-aminobutyric acid. All play a key role in regulating mood. In fact, an estimated 90% of serotonin is made in the digestive tract. It’s no surprise that probiotics are known to improve anxiety and depression.

OK, let’s get cooking.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Cream base:

½ head cauliflower (about 2 cups), broken into florets

1 large shallot, chopped

¼ cup dry white wine (I used pinot grigio, but sauvignon blanc and pinot gris work as well)

¾ cup non-dairy milk (I used homemade cashew milk, but any unsweetened, unflavored, non-dairy milk will work)

1 tablespoon vegan butter

Chowder:

5 ounces shiitake mushrooms, chopped

3 1/2 ounces bunashimeji mushrooms

3 medium carrots, finely chopped

3 celery stalks, finely chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 medium potatoes (or 8-10 fingerling potatoes), chopped

½ cup seaweed, chopped

1 tablespoon kelp powder

2 tablespoons vegan butter

2 tablespoons flour (gluten-free, if appropriate)

¾ cup dry white wine

Cream base (from above)

2 cups vegetable broth

A few notes:

The mushroom measurements are just how the mushrooms came packaged. I used one small box of shiitake mushrooms and the little bag that the bunashimeji mushrooms came in.

I like using bunashimeji mushrooms in seafood recipes because I think they look like little clams! However, they’re hard to find in regular grocery stores. I buy them at my local Asian market, but you can stick to shiitake mushrooms if need be. Besides, all the best health benefits come from the shiitakes, anyway.

Raw seaweed and kelp powder are specialty ingredients, too. You should be able to find them in Asian markets or health food stores such as Whole Foods. If not, you can order Kelp Powder at Amazon.

If you’re unable to find raw seaweed, sub in an additional tablespoon of kelp powder for added “sea” flavor.

VEGAN CLAM CHOWDER INSTRUCTIONS

Begin by preparing all your vegetables. This recipe contains a lot of ingredients, and prep work is super- important to keep things flowing in the kitchen. Luckily, we’re using an Instant Pot for this recipe, so actual cook time is relatively short — but take time to prep everything ahead of time so that you can stay put over the Instant Pot once everything is ready to go.

Start with the classic combination of carrots, celery and onions known as mirepoix; it’s basically the vegetable foundation for every soup and broth in existence. I recommend chopping the veggies very finely. They aren’t the stars of the soup, but their presence adds quintessential flavor.

More: Mood-boosting recipe: Vegan enchiladas with kale & sweet potatoes

Next, chop the shallots and cauliflower for your cream base. You can chop these roughly, because everything will end up in the blender anyway.

For seaweed, be sure to follow the instructions on the packaging. The brand of seaweed I purchased came preserved in salt, so I had to rinse it a few times and soak it in a bowl of water for 10 minutes before adding it to my recipe. Then, I chopped the seaweed up pretty finely to prevent the clam chowder from becoming a sea-noodle soup.

Press Sauté on your Instant Pot and adjust it to Normal heat. We will sauté the mushrooms and the ingredients for the cream and soup bases separately. If you prefer, you can sauté the cream base and the mushrooms over the stove, but I like the idea of using just one pot for this recipe (#lazykitchenhacks), so I just did one after the other.

Once the display says “Hot,” add 1 tablespoon vegan butter and sauté the cauliflower and shallots until they’re softened, adding salt and pepper to taste. When they’re slightly browned, add white wine to deglaze the pan, then press Off/Keep Warm. Place the cauliflower, non-dairy milk and miso paste in a high-speed blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Set this aside.

Return the Instant Pot to Sauté mode on Normal heat. When it’s hot, add 1 tablespoon vegan butter, and sauté the mushrooms until they’ve browned. Remove and set aside in a bowl.

Add the last tablespoon of vegan butter, onions, celery, carrots, salt and pepper to the pot and sauté until they’re translucent. Next, add the potatoes and garlic, and sauté for about 2 minutes, or until fragrant.

Add 2 tablespoons flour, and mix thoroughly until the flour has evenly coated all vegetables and begins to brown. Add white wine to deglaze the pot, then add the thyme, bay leaves, vegetable broth, cream base, kelp powder and seaweed to the pot. Close the Instant Pot and turn the vent to the Sealing position, then press Manual and adjust the time to 5 minutes.

Once the cooking is complete, allow the pressure to naturally release for 5 minutes before turning the vent to release any remaining pressure. Open the lid and stir contents, making sure nothing is stuck to the pan. To serve, ladle the vegan clam chowder into bowls, and garnish with thyme and oyster crackers or bread.

VEGAN "CLAM" CHOWDER RECIPE CARD (Yields 6-8 servings)

Ingredients

Cream base:

½ head cauliflower (about 2 cups), broken into florets

1 large shallot, chopped

¼ cup dry white wine

¾ cup non-dairy milk

1 tablespoon vegan butter

Chowder:

5 ounces shiitake mushrooms, chopped

3 1/2 ounces bunashimeji mushrooms

3 medium carrots, finely chopped

3 celery stalks, finely chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 medium potatoes (or 8-10 fingerling potatoes), chopped

½ cup seaweed, chopped

1 tablespoon kelp powder

2 tablespoons vegan butter

2 tablespoons flour (gluten-free, if appropriate)

¾ cup dry white wine

Cream base (from above)

2 cups vegetable broth

Instructions

Pressing Sauté on Instant Pot. Adjust to Normal heat, and wait until display says "Hot. "

Add 1 tablespoon vegan butter to pan, and sauté cauliflower and shallots until softened and browned. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add white wine to deglaze pan, then press Off/Keep Warm.

Place cauliflower, non-dairy milk and miso paste in high-speed blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside.

Return Instant Pot to Sauté mode on Normal heat.

When hot, 1 tablespoon vegan butter and sauté mushrooms until browned. Remove and set aside.

Add 1 tablespoon vegan butter, onions, celery, carrots, salt and pepper to pot, and sauté until translucent.

Add potatoes and garlic. Sauté until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Add 2 tablespoons flour, and sauté until flour has evenly coated all vegetables and begins to brown.

Add white wine to deglaze pot.

Add thyme, bay leaves, vegetable broth, mushrooms, cream base, kelp powder and seaweed to pot.

Close pot, turn vent to Sealing position, press Manual, and adjust time to 5 minutes.

When cooking is complete, allow pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes before turning vent to release any remaining pressure.

Open lid and stir contents, making sure nothing is stuck to pan.

To serve, ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with thyme and oyster crackers or bread.

Ever wanted to grow your own vegetables for dishes and soups? Learn how to start an organic vertical tower farm below and if you want more information, watch the full video here.

This article originally appeared on Grateful: This Instant Pot vegan “clam” chowder tastes just like the real thing

Brits say night feeds, lack of sleep and dirty washing are the other things about becoming a new parent that worry them

Night feeds, other people judging your parenting techniques and finding the time to eat a proper meal are among the most stressful things about becoming a new parent.

A poll of 2,000 mums and dads asked them to recount the time they were blessed with a new bundle of joy - and the struggles that came with it.

Lack of sleep, keeping on top of the dirty washing, and simply trying to cope with the huge change in lifestyle also appeared in the top 20.

The average parent reckons it took nearly a year after their baby was born before they started to relax as a new parent.

The research, commissioned by Uber Eats to celebrate the launch of a limited-edition parents menu, also saw finding time to go food shopping and eat a proper meal instead of snacking on the list.

Top 10 billionaire baby names that could help your child find success[https://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/family/top-10-billionaire-baby-names-20261309]

More than half of respondents (54 per cent) were also worried about eating the right foods and getting the nutrition they needed in the first six months of their baby being born.

Hannah Richards, nutritional expert and curator of the menu, said: "Nutrition is so important for mothers immediately after giving birth so they can get full strength and vitality back.

"The B vitamins, magnesium and probiotics are a great way to ensure these needs are met.

"With this limited-edition menu, new parents can be confident that their nutrition is taken care of, leaving more time to focus on their new babies."

Airline's new seat map shows where babies are sitting so passengers can avoid them[https://www.mirror.co.uk/travel/news/airlines-new-seat-map-shows-20260627]

The study also found that learning to be flexible with plans and seeing family and friends are considered some of the most stressful things about becoming a new mum or dad.

But more than half believe there is nothing else in life that can prepare you for parenthood.

More than three quarters expected more support from family and friends, including assistance with the cooking and cleaning, as well as taking on babysitting duties or just being good company.

It also emerged eight in 10 of those polled, via OnePoll, felt overwhelmed in the first six months.

In fact, a quarter would have preferred help with meals, cleaning and food shopping after the baby's arrival instead of everyone gathering for a baby shower.

More than a fifth struggled to find time to eat in the first six months, and four in 10 admitted to snacking a lot more.

Parents also confessed to consuming more chocolate, biscuits and crisps than they would have done normally.

Toussaint Wattinne, general manager of Uber Eats in the UK, said: "Having a new baby is an incredibly exciting time but it also comes with a lot of stress and sleepless nights.

"It's important that while you're looking after the baby, you're also taking care of yourself and staying fit and healthy.

"That's why we're partnering with Tibits and Hannah to make sure that parents are functioning at their best during an overwhelming but wonderful foray into new parenthood."

Baby essentials

1. Lack of sleep 2. Making time for yourself 3. Trying to have a shower 4. Settling a crying baby 5. Getting the baby to go to sleep 6. Night feeds 7. Knowing what's wrong with the baby such as unexplained rashes or ailments 8. Simply trying to cope with the change 9. Leaving the baby alone at any time 10. Leaving the house without forgetting something 11. Cooking while keeping an eye on the baby 12. Keeping the house clean 13. Keeping clothes clean/keeping on top of the washing 14. Constantly checking the baby is OK when they are sleeping 15. Trying to go to the toilet 16. Eating a healthy meal 17. Spending enough quality time with your partner 18. People judging you over your parenting techniques 19. Not leaving things lying around that the baby might pick up/grab 20. Keeping on top of finances

Far from being just waste, the liquid left over from making cheese can be used in all sorts of ways by the more adventurous cook

I’ve just been to the Wildes urban cheesemaking studio[https://wildescheese.co.uk/] in north London to learn how to make cheese. And I did – all kinds of cheeses: a beautiful hard cheese called Napier, a racy little blue called London Blue, a soft cheese in the spirit of the subtle, creamy cheeses of Grenoble, called Londonshire. It was one of the most fascinating days I have spent all year, partly due to the mix of the student body. There was a Polish hotelier, hoping to set up his own cheese courses after his early career as a bakery tutor led to epic weight gain. A Danish driving instructor, who had lived in the UK for 45 years, was the most pro-cheese and anti-Brexit person I have ever met, which led me to suspect some connection between those two things. A guy from Kansas was tacking the course on to the end of a trip to London for the DSEI arms fair; we passed an agreeable (to me) five minutes arguing about the protests outside it. (“Do these guys even know what they’re protesting against,” he mused. “Well,” I said, “it’s different every year, as you would know if you knew who the arms were killing.”)

But apart from all the humans, the revelation was whey: I had filed this away in my mind as a tasteless substance favoured by health freaks whose protein needs were so high that there weren’t enough hours in the day to service them with real food. The very existence of a thing called “vegan whey” made me suspect it was more of a wellness thing than a real, food-related thing (in fact, vegan whey is just a name for plant-based protein – it has nothing to do with whey).

Over the course of the day, we produced more whey than I have ever seen in the rest of my life put together, and it was clearly not a waste product, but carefully collected. I came to realise that maybe I had been missing something.

The obvious use for it is to make ricotta, which is usually just boiled whey. Indeed, if you have industrial quantities of whey, it would be perverse not to make ricotta. With the three litres of whey that I took home after my cheese day, though, there would be no point; you would just be making washing up. Instead, use it as a kind of enriched or, if you prefer, “magic” water.

I started off with perfectly plain fresh pasta, cooked for four minutes in whey cut 50: 50 with water. The result was unspeakably good: it had a bizarre depth and richness and felt utterly complete. I had fried some sage leaves for flavour, but ended up eating them separately as pudding. You can use the same technique to boil vegetables, although the less sweet your veg, the more you can taste the difference. Cooking in this fashion has quite a subtle effect on carrots and sweetcorn, but on green beans, the impact is nuclear. Even the colour seems more intense.

You can also use whey in preserving, for sauerkrauts and whatnot, which puts you in the incredibly nutritious and also very fashionable territory of fermentation (see Tim Spector’s book The Diet Myth[https://guardianbookshop.com/diet-myth-422262.html] for the fullest account). This is incredibly good for your gut microbiome, which in turn is good for your entire health, including mental wellbeing (the vagus nerve, which transmits messages from the brain to the gut, goes both ways). So you can mess up your digestion with a low mood, but also lift your mood with excellent digestion. Fermentation was a part of most cuisines centuries before its benefits were discovered, except in places such as Britain, where we preserve with vinegar, which kills everything. It will be another eight weeks before I can tell you what the sauerkraut tastes like, and that assumes that it doesn’t rot like the last time I tried it and end up smelling like a dead body. But I didn’t have any whey that time.

You can add whey to the soaking water for beans, and to soups, like a mega-stock. It has a rejuvenating effect on soil, but you have to dilute it, otherwise it “burns” plant roots. You can use it on your hair instead of shampoo, but you have to not mind the smell. And bafflingly, says Keith Sides, one half of Wildes Cheese, it has the same restorative affect on concrete as it does on muscles.

Really, the only thing whey doesn’t do is get distributed in supermarkets; you could cut a deal with a local cheesemaker, but if you really wanted a year-round supply of whey, it would be simpler to make your own cheese. You will need pasteurised milk, a starter culture[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cheese-Culture-Mesophilic-Sachets-cheeses/dp/B07LBSFXY4/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=starter+culture+cheese&qid=1569402696&s=gateway&sr=8-8] (“mesophilic” just means it grows at a moderate temperature, so heat your milk to 32C) and rennet[https://www.amazon.co.uk/RENNET-25ml-Chloride-Calcium-Cheesemaking/dp/B01L3H2MPE/ref=sr_1_13?keywords=rennet&qid=1569402769&s=gateway&sr=8-13], plus a lot of patience. But you will also end up with a ton of cheese, and cheese is great.

This word has appeared in 23 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year.

svelte \ ˈsvelt, ˈsfelt \ adjective

1. being of delicate or slender build

2. moving and bending with ease

3. showing a high degree of refinement and the assurance that comes from wide social experience

_________

The word svelte has appeared in 23 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Sept. 10 in “Seeking an Obesity Cure, Researchers Turn to the Gut Microbiome[https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/10/well/eat/seeking-an-obesity-cure-researchers-turn-to-the-gut-microbiome.html]” by Anahad O’Connor:

Scientists have known for some time that the microbiomes of obese and lean people differ in striking ways. Obesity, insulin resistance and fatty liver disease are associated with less microbial diversity and higher levels of a group of organisms called Firmicutes. It is not clear whether the obesity and diseases come first or vice versa. But there are indications that the microbiome plays an important role.

Scientists have found differences in the gut bacteria of children as young as 6 months old that can predict future weight gain. Studies of obese mice show that they harbor gut microbes that are better able to harvest energy from food, and when their microbiota are transplanted into the guts of lean mice, the svelte recipients gain weight.

_________

The Word of the Day and the quiz question have been provided by Vocabulary.com[http://www.vocabulary.com/]. Learn more and see usage examples across a range of subjects in the Vocabulary.com Dictionary[http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/]. See every Word of the Day in this column[https://www.nytimes.com/column/learning-word-of-the-day].

It seems almost counter intuitive, but eating a handful of nuts a day can keep middle aged spread at bay. Just as long as you chew them thoroughly. That's according to researchers at Harvard University[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/09/23/handful-nuts-day-could-stave-middle-aged-spread/] who recently found that the act of chewing a handful of nuts is so energy intensive it "may elicit dietary compensation through a reduced rate of ingestion." In other words, you'll eat less throughout the day as a result.

The researchers analysed data on over 300,000 men and women, aged between 24 and 75, over a 20 year period, and found those who ate nuts every day were less likely to become obese, with a 23 per cent lower risk of putting on 11 pounds in midlife. The findings held true even when other factors, like alcohol intake and exercise, were taken into account. They studied all types of nuts, with walnuts faring slightly better than others in terms of keeping you fuller for longer.

"As this study shows, there are many small, daily, doable habits that can reduce your risk of becoming overweight in midlife," says dietitian Helen Bond. So as well as a daily handful of walnuts, here are four other habits that may help ward off obesity...

Eat mindfully

“Something that’s just as important as what you eat is how you eat,” says Bond. “The one thing we’ve lost track of as a nation is how to eat mindfully. Cafe culture, snack culture, food manufacturers and Netflix have all played their part in the way we now eat. We’re encouraged to eat often, on the go, and in front of the TV. However, research shows we’re less likely to overeat when we put down our phones, turn off the TV, and take time to chew thoroughly, pause between mouthfuls, and appreciate the food we’re eating. Do all this and you'll become more in tune with your brain’s satiety signals, and you'll be less likely to over eat.”

Bond says it takes between 15 and 20 minutes for our brains to register the food we've eaten and send a full signal to our stomach: "So if you slow down your eating, rather than mindlessly taking mouthful after mouthful in front of Netflix or while staring at your phone, you'll eat fewer calories throughout the day."

Pick your cutlery wisely

Susanna Reid, the Good Morning Britain host, recently told an interviewer her 1 ½ stone weight loss was in part down to the fact she has given up “grazing” and only eats foods that require cutlery. “Can you eat biscuits with a knife or fork, or almonds with a spoon? No, you cannot,” she said.

“As this latest Harvard study shows, a handful of almonds helps curb appetite, but she makes a good point about the biscuits,” says Bond. “Mindless grazing plays havoc with your blood sugar levels which leads to hunger and cravings, not to mention it quickly adds up to hundreds of extra and unnecessary calories every day which can quietly lead to midlife weight gain.

“Watching your cutlery and crockery in general is a good tool to reduce your risk of becoming obese. We know that eating from larger plates and bowls is associated with weight gain. So if you’re having pasta for supper, downsize your super-sized restaurant-style bowls and eat from smaller, cereal-sized bowls instead. And the same goes for wine: the smaller your glass, the less you’ll drink without even realising.”

Eat plant based

“People often misinterpret a plant based diet as being a vegetarian or even vegan one,” says Bond. “But you can be a meat eater and still eat plant based. We’re increasingly aware that a plant based diet is linked to lower rates of obesity. So rather than making a side of pasta or rice a default for your evening meal, ensure at least half your plate is made up of plants, like leafy greens, vegetables, grains, pulses, legumes, nuts and seeds, with smaller amounts of dairy, fish and meat.

"That’s not to say cabs are bad," says Bond. "There’s nothing wrong with them at all, but we eat far too many of them and that’s the problem. When you eat plant-based, you naturally decrease the amount you eat while increasing your intake of fibre, vitamins and minerals which in turn improves the health of your gut microbiome, which is linked to a healthy body weight.”

Everything that happens to your body when you don't get enough sleep[https://cf-particle-html.eip.telegraph.co.uk/a4b468c7-a3e0-406d-92b5-82310d9feecb.html]

And finally, get a good night’s sleep

A large study published in the The American Journal of Human Biology found a lack of sleep can increase your risk of obesity by impacting on appetite regulation and glucose metabolism. "Obesity develops when energy intake is greater than expenditure. Diet and physical activity play an important part in this, but an additional factor may be inadequate sleep," says Dr Kristen Knutson, from the University of Chicago, who worked on the study. "A review of the evidence shows how short or poor quality sleep is linked to increased risk of obesity by de-regulating appetite, leading to increased energy consumption."

The study found that poor sleep also increases the release of ghrelin, the hunger hormone.

"In the United States [where the study was undertaken] 18 per cent of adults are estimated to get less than 6 hours of sleep, which equates to 53 million short sleepers who may be at risk of associated obesity," says Dr Knutson. "These findings show that sleeping poorly can increase a person's risk of developing obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease.”

So, to reduce your risk of becoming obese, go to bed on time tonight.

Telegraph 365 newsletter REFERRAL (article)[https://cf-particle-html.eip.telegraph.co.uk/40cd8a66-f5fa-4b01-828e-6ab606701740.html]

‘It’s easy to forget how amazing our bodies are when we focus on our perceived imperfections’

Seven in 10 women believe they are “too tough on themselves”, a new poll claims.

Hundreds of women polled said their thoughts are dominated with worries about their career and how they could be a better parent, along with their appearance[https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/women/dolly-parton-body-image-beauty-young-girls-self-esteem-mental-health-a8782246.html].

Almost two thirds wish their skin was smoother, half would like to be more tanned and half also long for less body hair. A third even wish they had a different skin tone altogether.

The survey of 2,000 women found worries such as these tend to manifest when they are having a shower.

“I’ve used make-up to cover up, and dreaded social occasions when I’ve suffered with skin issues such as rosacea,” said TV presenter Lisa Faulkner.

“It’s easy to forget how amazing our bodies are when we focus on our perceived imperfections. We all need to be a bit more gentle on ourselves and our skin, and use our shower time to relax rather than worry.”

A third of respondents said they worry other people are looking at them when feeling unconfident about their skin, and 17 per cent actively avoid having their photo taken during bad skin days.

Not only were those polled hard on themselves when it comes to their appearance, the research found they are also vigorous with their skincare routine.

During a typical week, respondents said they thoroughly scrub their skin five times a week. During this period they will also shave twice, wax once and pluck hairs using tweezers twice.

And these routines, along with prolonged to exposure to the sun and long soaks in the bath can –according to experts – strip the skin of its microbiome.

However, the Dove survey found two thirds of women do not know what the skin microbiome is.

Dr Sarah Jarvis, who has partnered with Dove, said: “The microbiome protects your skin from unfriendly organisms, helps manage pH levels, and also produces nutrients.

“The best way you can protect your skin microbiome so it can protect you, is by being gentle – in both the products you use and the pressure you apply.”

SWNS

Dawn Powell had bought two cots, two sets of babygrows, two sets of bedding. But just one of her much- loved baby twins came home from hospital after their birth.

Archie and Evalene were delivered in February this year, but Archie died at just four days old from a common bacterial infection — Group B Streptococcus, commonly known as strep B.

What adds to Dawn's distress is the fact that this bacterium is carried by one in five women — yet no one alerted her to the danger during her pregnancy.

Found in the genital tract and bowel of both men and women, strep B is normally harmless, but can become dangerous if transferred from a mother to her baby during labour, as newborns have more vulnerable immune systems.

Since 2000, the UK has seen the infection rate in babies under three months rise by almost a third.

One in 1,750 British newborns develops a strep B infection and one in 14 of those is left  with a long-term disability such as vision or hearing loss, learning difficulties, and seizures, while every week one baby will die.

But now, a new trial — the first in the world — is under way to prevent strep B infections in babies.

The £2.8 million study will involve researchers from the Universities of Nottingham, Warwick, Lancaster and City of London with support from the National Childbirth Trust and charity Group B Strep Support.

The year-long study will look at two tests to identify strep B infection in late pregnancy or labour, and will involve offering them to women whether or not they have risk factors.

Currently, only those with risk factors such as having been a carrier of strep B in the past, or showing symptoms such as fever during labour, are tested or treated.

Dawn, 41 who lives in Margate, Kent, had no risk factors. Already a mother to Kienna, 11, Aralyn, nine, and Lyara, seven, she'd never been told she carried strep B and had not had any problems in previous deliveries.

When she and her husband Kevin, 51, a self-employed salesman, discovered they were having twins and that  one would be a boy, they were thrilled.

'With three older sisters and a new baby girl on the way, a boy would even things out in our family,' Dawn recalls. 'We were so happy.'

Dawn, who works as a special needs teaching assistant, says her pregnancy progressed normally.

ARCHIE was born first at 37 weeks, the larger twin at just over 6lb. Evalene followed, weighing just over 5lb. 'Both seemed well — in  fact, Archie cried and seemed healthy but Evalene needed  a rub to get going,' she recalls.

Minutes after birth, Dawn noticed Archie was grunting. 'A midwife joked that he was singing,' she says.

But within hours, Archie's blood sugar levels and temperature dropped. He was placed in the special care baby unit and a consultant told Dawn they were investigating a possible perforated bowel. The consultant showed Dawn a blotchy area on Archie's stomach and noticed he became irritated if this area was touched.

She says: 'After more than 12 hours, a specialist came over and said it was very grave: Archie might not last the night. I was petrified.'

Archie was transferred to the Evelina Children's Hospital two hours away in London. There, he had blood tests and a consultant sat Dawn down. 'She told me Archie had strep B he'd contracted from me during delivery. No one really explained what it meant and I had no idea I could be a carrier as I was never tested.'

Evalene, in contrast, had not reacted to the bacterium — Dawn was told that this could be because Archie was born first, while Evalene had still been protected in her separate amniotic sac.

Dawn sat at Archie's incubator. 'At one point he opened his eyes and squeezed my hand,' she says. 'I was hopeful for a second. Then he closed his eyes. He didn't open them again.'

The consultants had done a CT scan and found a clot on Archie's brain. If he survived, he would be deaf, blind, unable to eat or communicate.

'Kevin and I talked,' says Dawn. 'It was a heart-breaking decision but  we decided it was not fair to make Archie suffer. We decided to turn off the life  support.'

Archie died at just four days old on February 14.

Yet a simple swab during pregnancy could have shown Dawn was carrying the bacterium, and antibiotics given to her before labour could have protected her son.

Professor Andrew Shennan, clinical director of Tommy's prematurity clinic, says: 'In the vast majority of cases the baby does not have strep B infection until the mother's waters break — before this there is a membrane around the baby to protect it from bacteria. At the time of delivery, lots of bacteria get on the baby and it's then that they can succumb.'

Philip Steer, an emeritus professor of obstetrics at Imperial College London, believes all women should be offered a test for strep B, but  whether to take it should be voluntary.

The new trial involves 80 maternity units. Half will be managed as now, with women not offered testing. The other half will be offered testing at 35 to 37 weeks or tested as soon as they are in labour. Professor Steer explains: 'Then we can see if there is a significant difference in the number of babies becoming ill in the three groups.

'This is the first trial in the world to test the hypothesis that antibiotics are effective and will hopefully answer the sceptics once and for all.'

He also believes that far from costing the NHS too much, a test for strep B infection is 'cheap'. In 2017, the Government's UK national screening committee rejected a programme to swab all pregnant women for strep B on the grounds it was not 'cost-effective'.

'It costs £12 per test — compared to the thousands of pounds per day needed to keep babies in neonatal intensive care,' says Professor Steer. 'Papers in The BMJ looking at cost-effectiveness in strep B infection testing found that the cheapest thing to do would be to give penicillin to every woman in labour.

'At worst, it's cost-neutral to test all women and the cost of babies that are sick is much greater,' he says. 'By the time there are signs strep B infection is present in a baby it's often too late.'

Professor Shennan says signs in newborns can include being 'floppy, moribund and  not behaving normally — if the bacteria is in the lungs the baby might show trouble breathing'.

He adds: 'These changes can happen in a matter of hours. Mothers, conversely, usually show no symptoms.'

Professor Steer says the reluctance to treat all pregnant women with precautionary penicillin is linked to antibiotic overuse and concerns it could affect the microbiome (balance of bacteria) in a baby's bowel.

'But penicillin is the best antibiotic for strep B infection and it's narrow-spectrum — it has fewer negative effects on the gut and does not promote resistance to other bacteria,' he says. 'Bugs that can develop resistance to penicillin are likely to have already done so as we have used penicillin longer than any other antibiotic, so it is unlikely to cause extra resistance.

'In any case, if a baby's bowel bacteria is changed it is usually back to normal by six weeks.'

Dawn was not given that option. 'Archie's notes said he was given some antibiotics but it was in the hours after birth so not in time,' she says. 'Also he was sedated because he seemed distressed, so was no longer 'grunting' and so wasn't displaying unusual behaviour that would have stood out to doctors.'

Professor Shennan says some women believe they might need a caesarean to prevent the transfer of bugs but he says this is not necessary if antibiotics are used. 'Strep B infection is weak to treatment,' he says. 'It's easily and effectively treated by simple antibiotics such as penicillin.

* gbss.org.uk

© Daily Mail

Children born by cesarean section may have important differences that affect their neurodevelopment.

Cesarean delivery can save a baby — or a mother — at a moment of medical danger. However, cesarean births have been linked to an increased risk of various long-term health issues for both women and children, and a recent study shows an association between cesarean birth and the risk of developing autism or attention deficit disorder.

The study, published in August[https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2749054] in JAMA Network Open, was a meta-analysis. It looked at data from 61 previously published studies, which together included more than 20 million deliveries, and found that birth by cesarean section was associated with a 33 percent higher risk of autism and a 17 percent higher risk of attention deficit disorder. The increased risk was present for both planned and unplanned cesarean deliveries.

The first and most important thing to say is that these were observational studies, and that association is not the same as causation. The children born by cesarean section may be different in important ways from the children born vaginally, and those differences may include factors that could affect their later neurodevelopment, from maternal health issues to developmental problems already present during pregnancy to prematurity to difficult deliveries.

If your child was born by cesarean section, there’s nothing you can do to change that, and knowing about this association may make you worry, while if you’re pregnant it may make you even more anxious about how the delivery will go. But the information about long-term associations and mode of birth should help to drive further research and understanding of how and why these associations play out.

Tianyang Zhang, a Ph.D. student in clinical neuroscience at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm who was the first author on the article, said that earlier research had shown various associations between cesarean delivery and long-term health problems, including higher rates of obesity and asthma in children. This study looked at a range of developmental and mental health issues. Though it did find an association between cesarean delivery and autism spectrum and attention deficit disorders, it did not find significant associations with others, such as tic disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders or eating disorders.

Dr. Aaron B. Caughey, the chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the Oregon Health & Science University, said that a number of different hypotheses have been advanced about what might cause — or contribute to — the associations between cesarean birth and long-term problems. But, he noted, the research is still very limited and difficult to carry out and constrained by the comparatively scanty research funding allocated to pregnant women and children.

In thinking about a possible mechanism for some of the long-term outcomes associated with cesarean birth, much attention has focused on the microbiome, and on the different gut bacteria acquired by babies who are born vaginally versus those who are born by cesarean delivery. During a vaginal birth, babies collect a range of bacterial fauna on their journey out of the mother. These differences could play a role in such conditions as obesity, asthma and diabetes, and further research might focus on their possible effects on neurodevelopment as well. Cesarean birth also means that babies are not exposed to the same mechanical forces and maternal stress hormones during labor.

There are marked regional differences in cesarean rates[https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2012.1030] in the United States, which tend to be highest in the South, and lower in the Midwest and the West. In 2017, the overall rate was 32 percent, but there was a range from 22.5 percent in Alaska up to 37.8 percent in Mississippi. “There’s a number of things that drive cesarean rates,” Dr. Caughey said, including “patient preferences, practice patterns, the medico-legal environment.” Earlier studies[https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2012.1030] have also found significant differences — in some cases as much as 10-fold — from hospital to hospital in the same area.

Still, Dr. Caughey said, efforts to reduce the cesarean rate in the United States seem to be having some effect. The rate peaked at 32.9 in 2009, he said, and is now going down, though slowly. Dr. Ana Pilar Betran, a medical officer in the department of reproductive health and research at the World Health Organization, said that the cesarean rate is increasing worldwide, not only in developed countries but also in low- and middle-income countries, and a growing proportion of the increase is for nonmedical indications. Brazil[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/27/opinion/cesarean-section-childbirth-brazil.html], the Dominican Republic, Iran and Egypt all have cesarean rates around 50 percent, she said.

A 2018 editorial [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673618323948]in the British medical journal The Lancet titled “Stemming the global cesarean section epidemic” estimated that 6.2 million unnecessary cesareans are done every year, half of them in Brazil and China.

Everyone agrees that some cesarean births are absolutely essential, for the health of the mother, the safety of the baby, or both. And Dr. Caughey said that for an individual woman, a cesarean “shouldn’t feel like a crushing defeat.”

He suggested that pregnant women should talk through labor and delivery with their health care providers, certainly by the time they are in the second trimester. “By and large, most providers in this country are not looking to do more cesarean sections,” he said.

Thirty years ago, Dr. Betran said, “We weren’t even thinking of these other long-term effects, asthma, obesity.” Instead, those concerned with high cesarean rates were looking only at the mortality rates of mothers and infants and other short-term risks. Though cesarean rates of 10 percent or 15 percent meant significant drops in mortality, rates much higher than those do not necessarily save many more lives, though they might benefit children in other ways.

Looking at increasing cesarean rates around the world, Dr. Betran said, “there is no single cause for the increase.” Societies are changing in many different ways that can affect how babies are born. She was the lead author on a 2018 article[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673618319275] in TheLancet that reviewed possible interventions[https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/non-clinical-interventions-to-reduce-cs/en/], from supporting midwives and providing companionship in labor to reducing the financial incentives for cesarean birth and addressing concerns about litigation. Still, the article acknowledges that bringing down these rates has been challenging.

If you need a cesarean, you should have a cesarean: “It saves lives when used for medical indications,” Dr. Betran said. But in a world — or a country — where cesarean rates can vary so widely, we need to be thoughtful about how the operation is deployed, since there is no advantage to cesarean birth when those medical indications are not present, she said, “and it may influence the life of the mother and the child” in many ways, as these studies suggest, and perhaps in other ways which we haven’t yet imagined or investigated.

Many people who have children with neurodevelopmental issues (and other health issues) worry over causation, questioning genetic links, environmental exposures, pregnancy and birth history, and a long list of other possibilities. That’s why this kind of research — and the research that should follow from it — is so important. Such research can help tease out some of the underlying differences among the children, and begin to elucidate mechanisms, from the microbiome on, by which the details of a baby’s journey into the world can shape that baby’s life to come.

And let me say again, or let the author of the study say it: “Association doesn’t mean causation; we can’t say cesarean section is causing this,” Ms. Zhang said. “We did find the association, which means further studies are needed.” However, she said, “Women shouldn’t be hesitant about cesarean sections when they are medically indicated.”

The M.I.T. Media Lab, an unconventional research center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been under scrutiny since August, when its financial ties to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein became public. Now researchers who worked at the lab say that one of its high-profile scientific projects was promoted with misleading claims.

At the center of the project -- the Open Agricultural Initiative, called OpenAg for short -- is the development of a device known as a personal food computer, a high-tech, climate-controlled mini greenhouse meant to allow crops to thrive in thin air, without soil or sunlight.

The project is led by Caleb Harper, an architect listed as a principal research scientist on the Media Lab website. Advisers for OpenAg have included Nicholas Negroponte, a co-founder of the Media Lab, and Joichi Ito, who was the lab's director from 2011 until this month, when he resigned under pressure after the disclosure of his efforts to conceal his financial connections to Mr. Epstein, the financier who killed himself last month after being indicted on federal sex-trafficking charges.

Four researchers who worked on OpenAg said in interviews with The New York Times that Mr. Harper had made exaggerated or false claims about the project to its corporate sponsors, a group that included the retail giant Target, as well as in interviews with the news media.

Mr. Harper, the project's leader, came to prominence with a 2015 TED Talk in which he made the case for the food computer. That lecture has racked up more than 1.8 million views on YouTube. Recently, the text summary on YouTube describing the lecture was revised to include a statement from TED: ''This talk is under review by TED's editors.''

The M.I.T. Media lab is also looking into Mr. Harper's project. An executive committee of faculty and staff members formed to lead the lab after Mr. Ito's departure said in a statement on Thursday: ''We are aware of questions raised about certain research conducted by the Open Agriculture Initiative at the M.I.T. Media Lab. Research integrity at M.I.T. is paramount and we will take all appropriate steps to address any concerns raised.''

The complaints of former Media Lab researchers concerning OpenAg were previously reported by Business Insider and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Mr. Harper, who did not respond to requests for comment, has said that his innovation would help usher in a ''fourth agricultural revolution,'' with people using the climate-controlled devices to discover and track the optimal conditions for various crops. Farmers with food computers could then share the data -- what OpenAg calls ''climate recipes'' -- with fellow food producers around the world, who would be able to use that information to improve yields from their own food computers.

As the leader of an initiative at the Media Lab, which has more than 90 corporations as ''member companies,'' Mr. Harper has been personally responsible for raising funds. In addition to the backing from Target, which ended in 2017, OpenAg has received financial support from Ferrero, the maker of Nutella, and Welspun, a conglomerate based in Mumbai, India, according to copies of contracts reviewed by The Times.

The former OpenAg researchers said that the food computers did not work as well as Mr. Harper said they did, adding that he often presented speculative claims as scientific truths while raising funds. In a recent interview with The Chronicle of Higher Education, Mr. Harper defended himself against that accusation, saying that he had not misled anyone and that his statements about the project were meant to describe his vision for its future.

Babak Babakinejad, a Ph.D. who was formerly the project's lead researcher, detailed his concerns about how OpenAg was presented in an email to Mr. Harper. He said he had sent the email, which he shared with The Times, after his contract with OpenAg was not renewed.

''You seem to think endlessly reiterating untrue claims will lend them credibility, but it won't,'' Dr. Babakinejad wrote to Mr. Harper. ''By persisting in this course of action, you have been putting M.I.T. and everyone associated with you at risk and I think it's time that you were made to face up to that and take responsibility for it.''

The four former researchers said that those who worked on the project were often told to make the food computers appear to work better than they did during promotional photo shoots or visits from the lab's sponsors or the news media.

Paula Cerqueira, a former special projects manager at OpenAg, said she had been told to buy a lavender plant from a store near the OpenAg facility before photos were taken. She brushed dirt off the plant, she said, and placed it inside a food computer before the shoot.

''When it comes to academic research, because you are seeking funding all the time, there is always a line between projecting vision and misleading people,'' Ms. Cerqueira said. ''I think that line was stepped over a number of times.''

The food computers, which researchers have envisioned selling to the public, are supposed to provide plants with just the right amount of light. But when the light function was not working, another member of the OpenAg team said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive events, an engineer manually rigged the device so that light would shine at the correct level during an important demonstration.

''This sounds more subtle than taking dirty plants and washing them off, but it actually is more fundamental,'' the former member of the project said.

The Media Lab was created in 1985 to encourage flights of fancy. As a sign that it favors innovation above all else, the lab refers to itself as ''anti-disciplinary.'' During his tenure as its director, Mr. Ito greatly increased funding and said that lab projects should have some usefulness to the outside world -- an approach he called, in a 2014 TED Talk, ''deploy or die.''

The OpenAg project received media attention, usually in the form of light feature stories, from the CBS News program ''60 Minutes,'' The Wall Street Journal and other outlets. A Boston Globe headline summed up the tone of the coverage: ''MIT Researchers Hacked Agriculture to Create What May Be the Tastiest Basil on Earth.''

The ''60 Minutes'' segment, a broad look at the Media Lab called ''The Future Factory,'' first aired in April 2018. It included an interview with Mr. Harper, who said that his devices would allow people to grow tomatoes equal to those in Italy, as well as grapes to rival the produce of vineyards in California and France.

''Tuscany in a box,'' he said. ''Napa in a box. Bordeaux in a box.''

After the ''60 Minutes'' broadcast showed cotton plants, which were grown in larger containers called food servers, Mr. Harper said, ''We're growing on average three to four times faster than they can grow in the field.''

In a statement to The Times, ''60 Minutes'' said that it was aware of the claims that Mr. Harper may have overstated the abilities of the food computers and that the show was ''reporting on it.''

Dr. Babakinejad, the former lead researcher, also had concerns about an academic paper written by Mr. Harper and five others that appeared in the peer-reviewed online journal PLoS One in April.

The paper, ''Flavor-cyber-agriculture: Optimization of plant metabolites in an open-source control environment through surrogate modeling,'' said that the OpenAg team used food computers, along with machine learning technology, to discover the ideal combination of light, nutrients, temperature and water to grow the most flavorful basil. Dr. Babakinejad said the paper exaggerated the precision of the devices' climate-control technology, and emails shared by Dr. Babakinejad show that OpenAg researchers questioned whether the data collected by the food computers met the standards of an academic paper.

Thomas Bjorkman, a professor of plant science at Cornell University, said there were growing boxes that could do what the OpenAg paper claimed, but they are expensive to operate and require 24 kilowatts of power, the equivalent of 240 100-watt light bulbs glowing at the same time.

Commenting on the paper's scientific value, Mr. Bjorkman said, ''The state of the industry of controlled-environment agriculture is so much more advanced, it would have little influence on horticultural research or practice.''

In an email exchange with Mr. Ito, Dr. Babakinejad expressed his concern about what he said were Mr. Harper's false claims in a draft of the academic paper, the ''60 Minutes'' interview and lectures.

''Up to now,'' Dr. Babakinejad wrote, ''we have not been able to achieve a 'controlled environment' nor been able to create an atmosphere (Climate control) as he leads people to believe in his talks. His claims about developments such as implementations of image processing, microbiome dosing, creating different climates and collecting credible data from bots across the world are not true.''

Mr. Ito wrote in his reply: ''Can I say that you have concerns about whether the food computers have been able to create a controlled environment which would put into questions some of the claims we make about the data and outcomes?''

Dr. Babakinejad replied in the affirmative, and the exchange ended.

In addition to their complaints over how the project was presented to those outside the lab, the researchers had another concern: Mr. Harper's habit of repeating a seemingly tangential claim about supermarket apples.

''Eleven months -- the average age of an apple in a grocery store in the United States,'' Mr. Harper said at the start of the 2015 TED Talk, explaining the need for more local food production. In a more recent lecture, he said the average age of a supermarket apple was 14 months.

No one from the lab could find the source of that number, the researchers said, adding that they had tried repeatedly to persuade Mr. Harper to stop citing the statistic, to no avail.

To find out if the statistic had a basis in fact, Dr. Babakinejad sent an email to an official at the United States Department of Agriculture who had expertise in the Pacific Northwest apple industry and received this brief reply: ''The statement is not accurate for the PNW apple industry.''

 Pamela Marshall was brought up in California but now lives in London with her husband Nick. She is a clinical aesthetician and has two children — David, 25, and Jackie, 26.

SUN PROTECTION

I never go out without SPF. The best way to protect yourself from ageing is to protect yourself from UV exposure. There is a difference between High Street products and clinical products. Clinical products are formulated to penetrate beyond our outer layer of skin cells, and High Street products only deal with the outer dead layer, so I only use clinical products. I use Exuviance for all my skincare, specifically their SPF35 moisturiser for UV protection.

CHANGE YOUR SHEETS

I change my sheets once a week but if I earned as much as Oprah and it wasn't horrible for the environment, I'd change them every single day. In my job, one of the biggest mistakes my clients make is not changing their bed sheets enough. Just think about the sweat and the toxins you're carrying throughout the day. I've seen so many clients who have acne because they don't clean their sheets.

URBAN EXPLORER

I was a yoga instructor for 13 years and a runner, but I just walk now — my body doesn't allow for anything else because of knee damage. I love walking through neighbourhoods and getting lost. If we've done ten miles on a Sunday, I'm a happy girl.

EAT WELL

I take a high dose of probiotics and omegas for my skin and overall health. I believe that food is medicine so don't have processed food unless I can't avoid it. We have a lot of salads, just because it's easy and we lack time. And I love pasta. Virtually everything we eat is made from scratch. I don't compromise on food.

COFFEE IN BED

Nick and I have a cappuccino in bed every morning. We've been doing it since we got together eight-and-a-half years ago. I wake up grumpy, so I need coffee before Nick can coax me out of bed. He wakes up around 7am and takes the dog for a walk. Then he makes us coffee and we climb back into bed and lounge.

© Daily Mail

Diet is crucial, but don’t forget to exercise, reduce your stress levels – and go when you need to go

Watch your diet

Bowel health is largely determined by the gut microbiome, the vast population of bacteria that live in our intestine. Research suggests[https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1462-2920.13006] a high-fibre diet[https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/apr/01/five-ways-to-get-more-fibre-in-your-diet] is crucial for healthy bowels, as these bacteria break down fibre into substances that have anti-inflammatory properties. But diets high in salt, saturated fat and red meat can lead to increased risk[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5532387/] of inflammatory diseases. “Specific bacteria have been linked to bowel cancer,” says Prof Philip Quirke of the University of Leeds. “We think that the maintenance of them is probably linked to diet, because you find higher rates of bowel cancer in places with high red meat consumption, and lower levels in areas where diets are based more on high fibre content.”

Follow the rhythm of your bowel

One of the main causes[https://www.verywellhealth.com/how-bad-is-it-to-hold-your-poop-4156577] of bowel problems, such as constipation, is interruptions to the natural rhythm of the body. “Bowel activity is normally greater when you wake up and after each meal, especially after breakfast,” says Dr Maura Corsetti of the University of Nottingham. “But in today’s world, many people don’t make time for this. Instead they delay bowel movements when they feel a stimulus, because they’re rushing out of the house or at work. This can lead to a bowel that is not opening regularly. So when you feel the desire to go, you should go.”

Reduce stress

“The gut is full of nerves, and during times of stress they release neurotransmitters that can generate inflammation in the gut,” says Dr Elizabeth Mann of the University of Manchester. “It’s well known that stress worsens many diseases, and this is one of the pathways by which this occurs.” Exercise is an effective method of reducing stress, and it has an additional positive effect on bowel health by speeding up transit times.

Take antibiotics only when absolutely necessary

Antibiotics can be necessary to clear infections, but this comes at a cost: they disturb the normal balance of bacteria[https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324258.php] in your gut, wiping out many of the microbes that have health benefits.

Breastfeed your baby

Because the gut microbiome is mostly formed before the age of two, feeding patterns in early childhood play a crucial role in determining bowel health in later life. Scientists say there is evidence[https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170508112411.htm] that breastfeeding babies can result in them having a far healthier gut, as can a diverse, healthy diet when they transition to solid foods. “This is important, because if you don’t develop a diverse microbiome early in your childhood, then you may be more at risk of inflammatory diseases such as asthma and eczema,” Quirke says.

Dr Johanna Ward reveals 15 superfoods that improve health and increase longevity…

In Dr Johanna Ward's bookSuperfoods To Superhealth[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Superfoods-Superhealth-Intelligent-sustainable-generation/dp/1916108709/ref=asc_df_1916108709/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=264204147992&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17007688481256508734&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046631&hvtargid=pla-755513635659&psc=1&th=1&psc=1], she explains how poor food choices are at the heart of most modern, western disease – such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and auto-immune disease.

Here, she lists the top 15 foods that can boost your health, and lead to a longer life.

They are anti-inflammatory and help reduce blood pressure and oxidative stress, which can lead to cell and tissue damage.

They also help to reduce your cholesterol levels.

Just eight strawberries contain 120% of your daily vitamin C needs.

Brits deluded about healthy eating as research reveals our bad food habits[https://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/health/brits-deluded-just-how-healthy-16248261]

Garlic is top of the list of anti-cancer foods listed in 2009’s Food Chemistry journal.

It’s useful for reducingblood pressure[http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/health/ten-ways-banish-high-blood-9621402]and for boosting our immunity.

Mushrooms are a functional food, which means they play a role in human health beyond nutrition.

Low in calories and dense in micronutrients, they are thought to be one of the most researched anti-cancer agents.

The shiitake mushroom has been singled out as the most beneficial to human health, and is believed to help protect against 200-plus conditions.

The lifesaving food that most of us aren't getting enough of[https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/superfood-food-were-not-eating-13840881]

Nuts are nutritional powerhouses.

Regular consumption of a handful of nuts can add up to two years to your life.

They’re a healthy source of fat, and are packed with protein.

Of all nuts, walnuts seem to have the best health profile and cancer-preventing benefits.

Sweet potatoes are nutrient-packed superfoods.

Loaded with fibre, antioxidants, phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals – great for combating renegade free radicals that could damage your DNA.

Avocados contain more potassium than bananas, and their monounsaturated fatty acids are great for the heart.

Legumes such as chickpeas, lentils and beans are full of natural goodness, including zinc, iron, folate, potassium and fibre, and are a low-calorie source of healthy fats, protein and fibre.

Lentils are particularly good for you, as they are high in fibrous prebiotics.

Goji berries’ potent antioxidant properties have meant they have a long history in traditional medicinal therapies, and are linked to longevity, strength and sexual vigour.

Studies have shown they are beneficial for diabetics, protect the heart, can improve sexual function and are of benefit to the brain.

They are also good for vision.

Chia seeds are a superb source of vegetarian omega-3 and are loaded with nutrients.

They contain abundant antioxidants and have a good balance of amino acids, the building blocks of tissue.

Add them to smoothies or porridge.

Flaxseeds are the richest vegetarian source of omega-3.

But they also have other health benefits, including lowering blood pressure, reducing atherosclerosis (furring of the arteries) and protecting against some cancers.

To get the full benefits, eat them as ground flaxseed or as flaxmeal.

Kefir is a yoghurt-like fermented milk drink and a wonderful source of probiotics.

Modern diets have virtually lost their probiotic content, leaving our guts perilously low in healthy bacteria.

Kefir can also be found in dairy-free form, like coconut kefir, for those who are vegan or intolerant of dairy products.

Herbs and spices often have powerful health benefits.

Oregano, turmeric, ginger, sage, parsley, chilli, cayenne pepper, cumin, rosemary, mint and cinnamon all have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits and have been included in the human diet for centuries to help protect against disease.

Sunday Magazines

Spirulina may well be the most nutritious superfood on the planet, gram for gram.

It is a highly nutritious biomass of cyanobacteria, a type of blue-green algae, and is packed with vitamins, minerals, high-quality protein and omega-3.

Add spirulina powder to smoothies.

Cacao is a true superfood.

It contains more antioxidants than blueberries.

Dark chocolate containing more than 75% cacao delivers great antioxidant benefits.

The flavanols in cacao can stimulate the cells that line the insides of blood and lymphatic vessels to produce nitric oxide, which is beneficial for vascular health.

Superfoods To Superhealth (Zenii, £30) by Dr Johanna Ward is out now. For more information,CLICK HERE. [http://drjohannaward.com]

AT A GLANCE The 2019 edition of the Montreal Vegan Festival takes place Sept. 21 and 22 at the Palais des congrès. The event includes talks by vegan athletes, animal rights experts and health experts, and visitors can sample vegan sausages, cheeses and desserts and read about environmental, ethical and health issues related to veganism. More info at festivalveganedemontreal. com.

There's no doubt that plant-based eating is on the rise. According to a 2018 study by Dalhousie University, more than half of all Canadians report they are willing to reduce their meat consumption.

That will not be news to the more than 20,000 expected to attend this year's Montreal Vegan Festival. On Sept. 21 and 22, the annual event at the Palais des congrès will include everything from food samples to workshops, cooking demos, vegan cleaning products, clothing and talks with vegan athletes.

For Marc-Olivier Brouillette, who went vegan in 2016 while playing for the Montreal Alouettes, the growing awareness of plantbased eating means he will be able to spend less time answering the question, "Where do you get your protein?" Brouillette is now retired from football and working as a lawyer in Montreal while training for triathlons. He says his answer to the question about protein hasn't changed: it's actually not that hard, thanks to tempeh, seitan, tofu, lentils, beans, protein powders and faux meats. As the spokesperson for this year's festival, he will be presenting a talk in French about becoming vegan while playing professional football. He will also be part of the All Gain No Pain: World Class Vegan Athletes Break Stereotypes panel in English with Georges Laraque and U.S. athlete and influencer "Bad Ass Vegan" John Lewis.

Dietitian Mélanie Olivier is president of Vivaï, a Montreal group of sports nutritionists that works with high-level athletes. She says anyone can be healthy on a vegan diet as long as they get enough energy and protein. That can be difficult for people with trouble digesting major vegan protein sources, such as soy and legumes, especially professional athletes who have greater nutritional needs. But generally, vegan diets can lead to an improved microbiome and better overall health, she says.

Brouillette made the switch to a plant-based diet partly to make dinnertime easier (his wife had recently gone from vegetarian to vegan and was doing most of the cooking) and also to get an edge up on other players.

"Especially at the professional level, everyone is talented and works hard, so you're trying to find that little edge wherever you can. I came across a lot of literature to the effect that eating an alkaline, high-nutrient, dense, high-protein diet was the best for recovery and energy levels and overall health. So almost overnight, I was all in."

The effects were almost immediate, he says.

"I felt great during workouts." He didn't lose much weight - he never wanted to - but his body fat percentage went down and strength and muscle mass went up. He has lost weight since retiring from football, but that happened naturally as he took up training for triathlons and no longer needed to weigh 210 pounds.

"It was a nice release for my knees, ankles and back," he says.

Getting enough fuel, rather than protein, for his multiple daily workouts was a bigger challenge, Brouillette says. Even now, with 5 a.m. runs or bike rides along the Lachine Canal, he's more worried about eating too little food than too much. That isn't the problem most Canadians face in a country where, according to Statistics Canada figures for 2016 and 2017, more than one in four people is obese.

But for high-level athletes, the key is calories, says Montrealer Nicole Ayalon, who competed in the World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF NO-GI Championships last year.

"I think a lot of people have a misconception that vegans only eat lettuce."

After training, she will down a blender-sized smoothie of frozen bananas, spinach, mixed berries, protein powder and nuts or seeds. Later in the day, she will have something more substantial to recover and gain energy for the next training. Recently, that has meant dumplings, a new obsession, she says.

"We're so lucky nowadays that pretty much every non-vegan food has a vegan version."

Ayalon initially went vegan because of animal welfare concerns, but improved strength and endurance was a positive side-effect.

"I was running a lot of long distances at the time and my endurance was improving like crazy, not to mention I don't get as sore or tired after an intense training," she says. "My body also doesn't hold onto excess fat anymore. I'm naturally lean now."

Olympic gold-, silver-and bronze-medal figure skater Meagan Duhamel went vegan almost overnight in 2008 after reading about veganism. She quickly saw changes in her body - glowing skin, higher energy, lower weight, feeling more rested. Now retired from figure skating, veganism has became more of a lifestyle than a diet for her and she's currently finishing a holistic nutrition program.

Duhamel starts her day with a kale and fruit granola bowl with non-dairy milk, her morning exercise leaning more toward yoga than 5 a.m. runs. Brouillette prefers overnight oats, slow-burning carbs that get him through his morning workout until he gets home and can turn on the blender without disturbing the family. And marathon swimmer Xavier Desharnais makes "boosted oatmeal" the morning of a race, a recipe he will demonstrate at the Montreal Vegan Festival.

Desharnais's vegan transition came in 2012.

"I was curious to see if having a plant-based diet could give me an edge in my sport," says the two-time champion of the Traversée international du Lac St-Jean and the top-ranked marathon swimmer in Canada.

At first he found he had more energy that lasted all day. Then he found that his mental focus was stronger.

"In open-water swimming, you have to make quick decisions or you lose the pack. I noticed that I was faster to think and take those decisions."

His favourite vegan meal is a homemade wrap made of smoked tofu veggie patty, avocado and chipotle vegan mayo. As for restaurants, it's Copper Branch followed by Vegano, Sham, Radis and Souchi's.

"There are so many!" he says. Brouillette's vegan meal preferences haven't changed much since his pro days, he says.

"It's generally bowls, just tossing together vegetables on a base of grains and some chickpeas or lentils.

I'll throw some flavoured tempeh on there or marinated tofu."

His fridge is always stocked with fresh vegetables and his cupboards with cans of chickpeas. Often he will whip together a tahini sauce with cumin, garlic and lemon or a peanut sauce with rice vinegar and ginger. With two kids, he and his wife don't have much time to cook elaborate meals, he says, but once a week they will break out a favourite cookbook, like Thug Kitchen or The Thrive Diet.

Brouillette eats less overall now, but still thinks about balancing fats, carbs, proteins and other macronutrients, plus the occasional treat.

"Ben and Jerry's and Häagen-Dazs coming out with their non-dairy ice-cream options was a gift and a curse."

With caloric needs double those of the average person - Brouillette says he needs about 4,000 calories a day - and a high metabolism, he probably shouldn't beat himself up about the occasional pint of vegan ice cream.

But there are different ways to be vegan, some healthier than others, he says. His homemade date balls don't result in the sugar crash associated with commercial vegan brownies, cakes, breads, pasta or cookies made with refined flours, starches and sweeteners. He says he wouldn't eat a Beyond Meat burger the night before a race. But they're convenient, meat-free and widely available.

For Brouillette, health is a balance of knowledge, self-awareness and discipline, and he is not likely to give up veganism as long as he sees improved athletic performance.

"At the end of the day, if you're eating healthy and listening to your body and adjusting accordingly, I don't think there's any reason to be so strict about what you're eating."

That is, as long as it's vegan.

NHS GP and lifestyle medicine expert Dr Sonal Shah explains how to transform every day of your week and become healthier for it

Rounding off the Sunday Mirror's 14-day guide to getting happy, NHS GP and lifestyle medicine expert, Dr Sonal Shah, has devised Sunday Mirror readers a week of exclusive straight forward nutrition and movement tweaks to transform your body and mood for good...

Trolley dash

It’s easy to fall into the same routines when it comes to food. You pack the same lunches, eat the same dinners.

Today, it’s time to turn meal planning on its head.

Instead of writing a list, go to the supermarket and shop the rainbow.

Fill your trolley with as many different colours of veg as you can, then come home and research simple recipes for using them up.

That way, you inject excitement into dinner, as well as giving the vital and varied nutrition your gut – and its good bacteria – needs to stay healthy.

Get moving

You don’t need to do an hour in the gym every day to reap the benefits of exercise. Having “exercise snacks” has been proven to be extremely beneficial.

These little nuggets of movement across the day and week need only be a minute long, but ideally add up to 150 minutes of moderate exercise – increasing your breathing rate without getting out of breath – over seven days.

Get to it: Try to tick off as many of these as you can. You can use the free My Fitness Pal app to log all your movement so you don’t have to keep a tally.

Nutrition tuition

Imagine your body is a car. For it to run as fast as possible, you need to put the high performance fuel into it. Your body needs a blend of vitamins and minerals to run in tip-top condition.

You also need phytochemicals to combat damage at a cellular level.

Today is when Monday’s rainbow food shop comes into play. Veg are high in phytonutrients and have the power to undo the damage and inflammation caused by eating overly processed food.

Baby drinks 1.5 litres of caffeine a day because parents are too poor to afford milk[https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/baby-drinks-15litres-caffeine-day-20136296]

The midweek slump is hitting but stay strong and fill up your bowl with as many vegetables, legumes and beans as you can.

Food swap: Swap that elevensies chocolate bar for sugarsnap peas, high in fibre, with a great crunch.

Exercise to try: Ditch the office and set up a walking meeting today. Walk and talk through a meeting for 30 minutes.

Fact: Sedentary behaviour is the fourth leading cause of mortality worldwide.

Early bird

Avoid eating big, processed meals late at night and have your dinner by 7pm.

Eating later, especially when your tea has lots of stodgy carbs, causes more blood to flow to the gut and stops you falling asleep easily.

Doctors build new tongue out of piece of woman's arm after cancer diagnosis[https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/doctors-build-new-tongue-out-20135144]

If collecting the kids or running around after work and school makes an early dinner impossible tonight, try switching your big meal to lunchtime to give your body time to digest. Set up optimum conditions for a good night’s sleep.

The science bit: When you eat a meal, your energy is diverted into processing food and that raises your body temperature. In order to sleep, your core temperature needs to drop by around two degrees.

The sleep hormone melatonin is at its highest between 8-9pm. Having caffeine and big dinners around that time interferes with these natural sleep signals.

Fibre Funday

Most of us don’t get our 25-30g of fibre a day (that’s about two Weetabix). But we need fibre for essential functions. It keeps your gut microbes happy and helps you sleep.

Too much can causeIBS[http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/health/how-banish-misery-irritable-bowel-7689088]in some people, but the majority function well on a diet high in fibre.

Find it in wholegrains, chickpeas, beans and avocados. Add at least two types to meals today to get started. Try fermented food such as sour dough and kefir, which feed good gut bacteria.

Did you know?

Up to 90 per cent of serotonin, our happy hormone, is produced in the gut.

So if you’re suffering with depression and anxiety, improve your nutrition. You’ll see a lift in mood in two weeks.

Get friend-fit: Start a WhatsApp group with friends and set daily movement challenges. Studies show being accountable to others boosts your chances of weight loss.

Step, step, glide

Make exercise easy by taking up a hobby that introduces movement in a fun way. Weaving exercise into your life makes this plan sustainable in the long term.

Have you tried

Top news stories from Mirror Online

Cleanse

Limit the amount of meat, especially processed, you’re eating by having a meat-free day. Use plant-based alternatives such as quinoa, bulgur wheat and legumes like butter beans.

You can also limit meat to when you eat out.

Try Meat Free Mondays (follow @meatfreemonday onInstagram[https://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/instagram]for oodles of inspiration).

Today is a good day to reflect on the changes you’ve made over the past fortnight.

With exercise, remember to move SMART – use S pecifics, set goals using M easurable quantities, make the exercise practical and A chievable, be R ealistic about whether you can physically do it, and be clear on the T imeframe, for instance try to get to three reps of 20 x squats, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and increase the reps over the next four weeks.

Dear Dr. Roach: I am a 47-year-old woman. Five years ago, I developed a blood clot in my left leg after fracturing my ankle and being immobilized for several months. I was put on a blood thinner, and my ankle healed. Recently, that leg started swelling again and I went for an ultrasound. I was told that I have a chronic DVT, but that I don't need blood thinners. Why do I not need a blood thinner now when I did before? What does "chronic" mean? Why am I getting swelling again five years after the first clot? L.S.B.

Blood clots can happen in veins or arteries, but the type that happen due to surgery and immobilization are almost always in the vein. That's the "V" in "DVT," which stands for "deep vein thrombosis."

A brand-new blood clot has a high risk of propagating further up the vein, and also of breaking off and travelling through the vein into the heart. Most often, the clot will go on into the lungs, then called a "pulmonary embolus." But in rare cases, the clot can go through a patent foramen ovale, which is sometimes called a hole in the heart, and cause a stroke.

Because of the risk of life-threatening complications, acute DVTs are treated with anticoagulants, such as warfarin (Coumadin) or apixaban (Eliquis). This stabilizes the clot and, after a week or two, the risk of propagation or embolization becomes much lower. Most people are treated for at least three months for maximum benefit.

Treatment does not dissolve the clot, and a follow-up ultrasound will detail changes that show the clot is no longer acute, hence "chronic." The vein itself is scarred and damaged, and never returns to normal.

"Chronic DVT" isn't the best term, since it confuses many, both patients and doctors alike. I prefer scarred. Some experts use "chronic luminal changes" to differentiate it from an acute clot. Whatever it is called, it may still be symptomatic.

Most people with a history of a large clot on one leg will notice that leg swells more than the other in heat or with a large salt load. Even so, anticoagulant treatment is neither necessary nor helpful.

Effective treatment for swelling associated with previous DVT includes salt restriction, compression stockings and leg elevation several times during the day. People with more severe symptoms that do not respond to conservative management may benefit from more aggressive therapies, such as placement of a metal stent to let the blood flow better through the damaged area.

Dear Dr. Roach: My husband required frequent antibiotics, which resulted in C. diff infections with diarrhea. I found that adding some dry powdered fibre in his drinks helped to prevent the diarrhea, or to treat it if caught early enough. I hope this will help someone else.

M.M.

I appreciate you writing. Clostridium difficile is a cause of antibioticassociated diarrhea, which can occur with almost any antibiotic. As such, the best prevention is not taking antibiotics. Unfortunately, though, sometimes antibiotics are absolutely necessary.

There are some data that fibre supplements, as you have kindly suggested, can help prevent C. diff. Although many have used probiotics for the same purpose, the data does not support their effectiveness.

Because lack of acid is a risk for development of C. diff, it's wise to temporarily hold off antacid therapy, such as omeprazole. Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers can email questions to ToYourGoodHealth@med.cornell.edu.

When the Indian government bowed to powerful food companies last year and postponed its decision[https://www.foodnavigator-asia.com/Article/2018/08/22/India-s-new-packaged-foods-rules-Back-to-the-drawing-board-for-red-warnings-on-unhealthy-products] to put red warning labels on unhealthy packaged food, officials also sought to placate critics of the delay by creating an expert panel to review the proposed labeling system, which would have gone far beyond what other countries have done in the battle to combat soaring obesity rates.

But the man chosen to head the three-person committee, Dr. Boindala Sesikeran, a veteran nutritionist and former adviser to Nestle, only further enraged health advocates.

That’s because Dr. Sesikeran is a trustee of the International Life Sciences Institute, an American nonprofit with an innocuous sounding name that has been quietly infiltrating government health and nutrition bodies around the world.

Created four decades ago by a top Coca-Cola executive, the institute now has branches in 17 countries. It is almost entirely funded by Goliaths of the agribusiness, food and pharmaceutical industries.

The organization, which championed tobacco interests during the 1980s and 1990s in Europe and the United States, has more recently expanded its activities in Asia and Latin America, regions that provide a growing share of food company profits. It has been especially active in China, India and Brazil, the world’s first, second and sixth most populous nations.

In China, the institute shares both staff and office space[https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/09/health/obesity-china-coke.html] with the agency responsible for combating the country’s epidemic of obesity-related illness. In Brazil, ILSI representatives occupy seats on a number of food and nutrition panels that were previously reserved for university researchers.

And in India, Dr. Sesikeran’s leadership role on the food labeling committee has raised questions about whether regulators will ultimately be swayed by processed food manufacturers who say the red warning labels would hurt sales.

“What could possibly go wrong?” Amit Srivastava, the coordinator of the advocacy group India Resource Center, asked sarcastically. “To have a covert food lobby group deciding public health policy is wrong and a blatant conflict of interest.”

The organization rejects allegations that it works to advance the interests of its corporate members. “Under no circumstance does ILSI protect industry from being affected by disadvantageous policy and laws,” the group said in a statement.

After decades largely operating under the radar, ILSI is coming under increasing scrutiny by health advocates in the United States and abroad who say it is little more than a front group advancing the interests of the 400 corporate members that provide its $17 million budget, among them Coca-Cola, DuPont, PepsiCo, General Mills and Danone.

Last year, the candy maker Mars withdrew[https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-mars-science-candy/mms-maker-publishes-science-policy-in-bid-to-boost-transparency-idUKKBN1FP2AO] from ILSI, saying it could no longer support an organization that funds what a Mars executive described as “advocacy-led studies.” In 2015, ILSI lost its special access to governing bodies at the World Health Organization after critics raised questions about its industry ties.

In the 40 years since its creation, ILSI has methodically cultivated allies in academia and government through the conferences it sponsors around the world, and by recruiting influential scientists to committees that work on issues like food safety, agrochemicals or the promotion of probiotic supplements.

Although conference topics seldom touch on politically contentious matters, critics say they serve a larger purpose: cultivating scientists and officials who might normally avoid an event directly sponsored by McDonald’s or Kellogg’s.

“It also helps that they are always held at five-star hotels, and that they serve you lunch,” said Dr. Shweta Khandelwal, a nutritionist with the nonprofit Public Health Foundation of India. “We certainly don’t have the money to pay for people’s lunch.”

In many ways, Dr. Sesikeran is the ideal ILSI recruit: a former top government official and marquee nutritionist. In the seven years since he retired as director of India’s National Institute of Nutrition, Dr. Sesikeran has advised companies like Nestle, the Japanese food giant Ajinomoto and the Italian chocolate maker Ferrero.

Since 2015, Dr. Sesikeran has been a trustee of both ILSI-India and the organization’s global operation based in Washington, and he is a frequent speaker at ILSI events, where he has lectured about the benefits of artificial sweeteners and genetically modified crops.

The ILSI positions are unpaid, but they come with all-expense-paid travel to meetings around the world.

Last year, when the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India needed someone to lead its panel on warning labels, officials chose Dr. Sesikeran. Pawan Kumar Agarwal, the authority’s chief executive, had spoken at ILSI seminars[https://ilsi.org/gut-microbiome-super-organ/] alongside Dr. Sesikeran, and in 2016, he tapped Dr. Sesikeran for a committee weighing the pros and cons of genetically modified mustard plants.

According to Indian law, seats on such scientific panels are reserved for independent experts, a point highlighted in a letter that Mr. Srivastava of the India Resource Center recently sent to the food authority. “The regulated cannot be the regulators,” he wrote, noting that ILSI’s disclosure forms require board members to place the organization above all other interests.

Dr. Sesikeran did not respond to interview requests. Dr. Arun Gupta, a pediatrician with Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest-India, said that in private, Dr. Sesikeran has defended his close association with industry, saying he believed he could bring about needed change by working with big food companies, not against them.

Rekha Sinha, the longtime executive director of ILSI-India, said suggestions that the organization promotes industry were wrong. In the two decades since its founding, she said, ILSI-India had funded studies on diabetes, helped promote the mandated fortification of processed food with vitamins, and advised the government on how nutrition affects those with H.I.V. and AIDS.

“The criticisms of ILSI-India that are circulating out there are very painful because they are not justified,” she said.

As it expands across the globe, ILSI is drawing unflattering attention. Over the past year, researchers have documented[https://www.bmj.com/content/364/bmj.k5050] how the organization’s China affiliate helped shape anti-obesity education campaigns that stressed physical activity over dietary changes, a strategy long espoused by Coca-Cola[https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/08/09/coca-cola-funds-scientists-who-shift-blame-for-obesity-away-from-bad-diets/] that critics say was designed to protect corporate profits.

In Beijing, relations between ILSI and the government are so intertwined that ILSI’s top leaders double as senior officials at China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Through freedom of information requests, authors of a recent study[https://globalizationandhealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12992-019-0478-6] in the United States obtained emails between ILSI trustees, its corporate members and the group’s allies in academia urging them to step up their fight against the W.H.O.’s increasingly tough stance[https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Alex-Malaspina-Barbara-Bowman.pdf] on sugar.

In one exchange in 2015, Alex Malaspina, the founder of ILSI, sought suggestions from ILSI trustees and an official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/22/health/brenda-fitzgerald-cdc-coke.html?_r=2] about how to influence Dr. Margaret Chan, then the W.H.O.’s director-general.

“We must find a way to start a dialogue,” wrote Mr. Malaspina, who retired as ILSI’s president in 2001 but was still in frequent contact with its staff, trustees and corporate members. “If not, she will continue to blast us with significant negative consequences on a global basis. This threat to our business is serious.”

James Hill, an ILSI trustee and expert on weight management, responded, “I agree that we need to do something to try and prevent W.H.O. from taking a completely anti-food industry stance in the obesity field.”

In a statement, ILSI, based in Washington, said claims that it sought to influence the W.H.O. were “unfounded and inaccurate.” Although it did not provide further details or respond to specific questions about its activities overseas, the organization said in another statement[http://ilsi.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Sci-Integ-Principles-App-A.pdf] that ILSI entities are allowed to provide regulators “information relating to factual matters within ILSI’s scientific expertise.”

In addition to its far-flung offices, ILSI runs a research foundation[https://ilsirf.org/] and an institute[https://hesiglobal.org/] focused on health and environmental issues that is largely funded by the chemical industry. It also publishes the academic journal Nutrition Reviews[https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews] and organizes scores of scientific conferences around the world.

Much of ILSI’s work in recent years has focused on fostering relationships in developing countries.

“Emerging economies are where the action is,” said Laura A. Schmidt, a professor of health policy at the University of California, San Francisco. “These are places where the health infrastructure is less established and populations may be less informed about health hazards. If corporations can get in on the ground floor, they can shape the narratives and policies around unhealthy products.”

The organization’s annual report and website brim with assurances about its commitment to transparency. According to its code of ethics[https://ilsi.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/ILSICodeofEthicsSofC2009.pdf], ILSI projects “must address issues of broad public health interest.”

But the organization has a long history of championing corporate interests. In 2001, a [https://www.who.int/tobacco/media/en/ILSI.pdf]W.H.O. report criticized the group for its role in financing studies that cast doubt on the dangers of smoking, and in 2006, the agency barred ILSI from activities involving the setting of standards for food and water after its stealth efforts to sway policy in favor of industry came to light[https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/jan/09/foodanddrink].

Over the past decade, ILSI has received more than $2 million from chemical companies, among them Monsanto, which was bought by Bayer last year. In 2016, ILSI came under withering criticism[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/17/unwho-panel-in-conflict-of-interest-row-over-glyphosates-cancer-risk] after a U.N. committee issued a ruling that glyphosate, the key ingredient in Monsanto’s weed killer Roundup, was “probably not carcinogenic,” contradicting an earlier report[https://www.iarc.fr/featured-news/media-centre-iarc-news-glyphosate/] by the W.H.O.’s cancer agency. The committee, it turned out, was led by two ILSI officials, one of them Alan Boobis, the vice president of ILSI-Europe[https://ilsi.org/about/staff-leadership/] who has done consulting work for the chemical sector.

In India, ILSI’s expanding influence has coincided with mounting rates of obesity, cardiovascular disease and especially diabetes[https://idf.org/our-network/regions-members/south-east-asia/members/94-india.html], which affects more than 70 million Indians. Experts say that number could soar to 123 million in the next decade as more people embrace processed foods high in fat, sugar and salt.

The government has responded with bold measures, including a 40 percent tax[https://www.livemint.com/Industry/5enLiWHCIu06ocHOk31KyM/GST-rates-Aerated-drinks-to-attract-40-tax-industry-body.html] on sugar-sweetened soda introduced in 2017. But other efforts, including a ban on junk food sales in and around schools, have stalled amid opposition from food and beverage companies.

“The power of this industry is even greater than that of the tobacco industry,” said Sunita Narain, the director of the Center for Science and Environment in New Delhi. Four years ago, she took part in a government panel on warning labels whose report was promptly shelved. “But they are so shadowy that these players don’t dare come to the table representing the food industry, because no one would accept Coca-Cola or Pepsi in the room.”

ILSI-India has excelled at getting its allies into the room.

In addition to Dr. Sesikeran’s roles, Dr. Debabrata Kanungo, an ILSI member and former official with the Indian Ministry of Health, sits on two scientific food panels: one considering the safety of pesticide residues, and another on additives in processed foods. Ms. Sinha, ILSI-India’s executive director and an economist by training, briefly served on a government nutrition panel[https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/staying-alive/look-at-who-the-niti-aayog-is-consulting/] along with Dr. Sesikeran, but both were removed after they failed to declare their relationship with ILSI as a conflict of interest.

Even as its influence in the developing world grows, ILSI has faced occasional pushback. An ILSI-funded research project on childhood obesity in Argentina was canceled three years ago after parents whose children were enrolled in the study learned more about the organization. And in 2015, ILSI officials in Washington shuttered ILSI-Mexico after the news media there wrote unfavorably about a conference it organized on sweeteners.

Many of the speakers, it turned out, were well-known advocates for the beverage industry, and at the time, the Mexican government was considering modifications to a newly enacted tax on sugary drinks.

It did not help that the head of ILSI-Mexico was Raul Portillo, a former Coca-Cola executive in charge of regulatory and scientific affairs.

In an email[https://usrtk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Alex-Malaspina-ILSI-Mexico.pdf] to one of the group’s trustees, Mr. Malaspina, ILSI’s founder, called the incident a “mess” and said he was saddened by the decision to suspend ILSI-Mexico. “I hope we have now reached bottom and eventually we will recover as Coke and ILSI are concerned,” he wrote.

The suspension[https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1/#inbox/KtbxLzGPqGPZqlDRRxCWbnKWlkjcNPgxxV?projector=1&messagePartId=0.2], it turns out, lasted less than a year, and ILSI-Mexico is up and running with a new executive director: J. Eduardo Cervantes, the former director of public affairs at Coca-Cola of Mexico.

PHOTOS: Above, a store in Mumbai. In India and in other countries, a group funded by food and beverage companies fights restrictions on sugary or processed foods. Left, Coca-Cola products in a store in Mexico City. The food group temporarily shut its Mexico branch in 2015 after unfavorable coverage. (PHOTOGRAPHS BY INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES; REBECCA BLACKWELL/ASSOCIATED PRESS) (D3)

When it comes to overall health, you might be smart to go with your gut.

Researchers into the human biome are taking a deep dive into the human gut, to try to determine what role the bugs therein might be playing in other conditions, including diabetes, obesity and mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. It's early days in the foray into this wildly complex system with untold numbers of strains of bacteria (and not just in our intestines), but that hasn't stopped the establishment of a new cottage industry of diet advice and supplements for achieving optimal gut health.

The latest? Seed, a "synbiotic" that recently became available in Canada and offers to deliver both pre- and probiotics in one time-released "capsule within a capsule." It's a clever idea, once you understand the role the two biotics likely play in the health of our microbiome, what we call the sum total of the trillions of microbes that live on or inside human bodies and appear to play a significant role in our immune and digestive systems.

We almost certainly want a good, diverse gut "flora," which some people hope to achieve by swallowing probiotics - capsules full of specific or several strains of (hopefully) good bacteria. However, it's not clear taking a supplement promotes any long-term change or diversity.

"Ideally, people are hoping to change the microbiome or supplement the microbiome with products," says Dr. Jeremy Burton, a scientist at the Lawson Health Research Institute and deputy director at the Canadian Centre for Human Microbiome and Probiotics (CCHMP) in London, Ont. "You have to really look at each individual health claim, since people think that probiotics go in and replace bacteria but, in reality, they go in and, in most cases, they go out again."

Probiotics can help alleviate a specific problem (some strains of lactobacillus help reduce symptoms from Irritable Bowel Syndrome, for example), but a regular intake of "prebiotics" are thought to be a more useful tool for improving the microbiome on a more permanent basis, since they help various strains of bacteria thrive. Generally speaking, the advice for an effective prebiotic has been to eat more fibre, since there are compounds in there that we can't digest, but the bacteria love and need for their optimal health.

In the case of Seed, the prebiotics are Indian pomegranate, Scandinavian pine bark and chaga mushrooms, which kick in on a time-released mechanism, so they can "feed" the 20-something strains of bifidobacteriumand lactobacillus also in the capsule. Judging from the gorgeous and super-sciencey website that evokes both nature and high-tech, Seed appears to have done a lot of work to make sure its product is the right cocktail of probiotics and prebiotics based on what science knows right now.

Coincidentally, they've even consulted with microbiologists from the CCHMP - something Burton informed me of as soon as I contacted him, to make me aware of the link. Seed has an impressive advisory board and, even more heartening is the fact that, if you read carefully, Seed's website is pretty frank about the fact that there's still plenty we don't know about the human biome and the role it plays in human health.

Even though the data isn't all in, I unwrapped the gorgeous little high-tech, eco-friendly package Seed sent me and followed the instructions: One capsule per day, at least an hour before a fibre-rich meal, then, on the fourth day, double the dose. I can report feeling a distinct rumble in my tummy on Day 4, but, a couple of weeks in, I can't say I feel any overall difference.

On the other hand, since I don't really have any serious digestive problems, it'd be hard to say for sure one way or another, right?

I decided to consult a registered dietitian for advice.

"What I often suggest with my clients is to try a specific probiotic for maybe three months and then switch it up to another probiotic," says Andrea Miller, MHSc, R.D., and consulting dietitian with a practice in Whitby. "But because you're introducing a variety of strains of microscopic organisms into your gut all the time, which may or may not be helpful, I encourage my clients to really keep track of it and how it affects their system, because a change is only as good as evaluating it."

Miller points out that part of the tracking system should also involve dietary changes, sleep, exercise, hormones, alcohol consumption and stress levels, since all of these things also play a role in digestive health. So, I looked at my fancy little Seed bottle and wondered if I wanted to spend the $50 (U.S.) - roughly $66 Canadian plus shipping - to continue the experiment to the 90-day mark. That's a lot of money.

Could it be better spent on something else?

"I tell people to start by trying to fix digestive problems through food first," says Miller, "So I'd suggest people start with baby steps, like buying a yogurt with more probiotics, adding more fruits, vegetables and whole grains into their diet and cutting down on added sugars and alcohol, which might be enough. I think we should avoid that knee-jerk reaction of 'Well, I'll just take a supplement,' since you can't take a pill to improve a crappy diet."

And, if a lack of fibre is, in fact, a chief reason our bugs aren't loving the accommodations in our guts, which is what some people have speculated (renowned food and science writer Michael Pollan included), dietary changes, even small ones, might be the best long-term approach.

I enjoyed the Seed experience and was happy to welcome all the new bugs into my intestine. I hope they stay. For now, though, I think I'm going to take my $66 to the grocery store, instead. I can't say for sure that's the best thing - just going with my gut.

Like one in four women in Britain, I have had a caesarean birth. And so, like one in four women in Britain, I read with mounting horror the new evidence of just how harmful a C-section can be to babies.

Last month, a Swedish analysis of data from 20million births in 19 nations showed that C-section babies were 33 per cent more likely to develop autism and 17 per cent more likely to develop ADHD.

Now, scientists from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, University College London and University of Birmingham have found that surgically delivered infants have a greater susceptibility to antibiotic-resistant superbugs found in hospitals, possibly because the drugs associated with operating on the mother wipe out many of the healthy bacteria or microbiome in the gut of the baby.

While infants may not become sick immediately, the long-term effects these hospital bugs have on their immune system can place them at higher risk of allergies, asthma and diabetes in later life.

Guilt is, of course, part and parcel of parenthood. But what I feel right now is something much, much deeper than any work-life balance angst.

It is a sense of self-reproach that my 10-year-old daughter's birth could be the reason for her allergic reactions, her rashes and hay fever so extreme that, as we recently discovered on holiday, grass pollen can make her throat constrict to the point that she struggles for air.

There is nothing I can do now, of course, but I can't stop ruminating all the same - and nor can my circle of mothers left aghast that they may have unwittingly compromised their children's health.

I hold my hands up and admit I requested an elective caesarean. I was eventually persuaded, coerced and coaxed into changing my mind, but I ended up with an emergency one instead.

It was the middle of the night. Life or death. No time to debate the pros and cons. See how I'm trying to justify a surgical delivery because I want to avoid the finger of blame? Even though nobody is blaming me. Yet.

What about those women who have elective C-sections? Are they to be vilified - will they vilify themselves? - even though they were given a choice based on the fact that doctors told them C-sections were safe? What a nightmarish prospect. When someone dies of cancer, particularly lung cancer these days, the very first question people inevitably ask is whether the deceased was a smoker? The amount of compassion very much depends on the answer. Rightly or wrongly - but invariably - innocent victims garner more sympathy than those deemed complicit in their own misfortune.

Will our children be quizzed in future about the circumstances of their birth every time they need medical care? And be met with expressions of disapproval because it was their own selfish, unthinking, too-posh-to-push mothers whose elective surgery millstoned them with poor health? Except not all of us are too posh. I was psychologically damaged by the hospital birth of my first child, which was very fast and very ghastly. I had no midwife.

I suffered from post-traumatic stress as well as having physical complications, so when I became pregnant again, I met with the consultant and asked if she could guarantee that this time I would have a midwife taking care of me in labour.

She could not. So I reluctantly asked for an elective caesarean.

Had I known there was any risk at all to my baby's immediate or future health, I would not have chosen a C-section in a million years. What mother would? As it turned out, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and had to have an early emergency caesarean at 36 weeks, which was awful. But now I have a healthy, happy daughter.

My heart goes out to any woman who has a child with serious health issues and who is now agonising over whether her elective caesarean was the reason.

At this stage, researchers remain slightly circumspect about any direct causal links. But if there is any suspicion, then women - all of us - need more information as soon as possible.

Not sensationalised, no need for scaremongering or sending pregnant women who have been advised to have a planned caesarean for medical reasons into a meltdown.

Is it time to stop all C-sections apart from those absolutely necessary for medical reasons? I have no idea. That's one for the chief medical officer or the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. The onus is on them.

Risk and benefit must be balanced, sober facts interpreted by medical experts and used to raise awareness and give support, not spread fear. Knee-jerk reactions do patients and doctors alike a grave disservice.

Sometimes, the truth is unpalatable, but that is no reason to disregard it.

Sometimes, the truth is so complex that its nuances need to be explained.

Freedom of choice is a great thing, and an empowering thing. But only if we know the facts before we make that choice. There's a valid argument that children most likely to need a planned C-section may be those most likely to develop autism or ADHD regardless; further research is desperately needed.

Until then, pregnant women and those planning to become pregnant need to be brought into the discussion so they receive guidance to make the right decision for them and for their babies.

I was coaxed out of an elective caesarean but ended up with an emergency one

Winnipeg VegFest 2019

Whether you've kicked eating animal products completely, are curious about a more responsible way of living or are simply looking to learn more about the benefits of a meat-free diet, Winnipeg VegFest 2019 has the answers for you.

The day-long event highlights all things vegan, with an emphasis on environmentally responsible options that foster a healthy lifestyle and ethical choices. VegFest 2019 takes place Saturday, Sept. 21, at the University of Winnipeg's Axworthy Health & RecPlex (350 Spence St.) starting at 9 a.m. and running through to 5 p.m. and features a wide range of speakers, vendors, workshops, a kids area and more.

Featured VegFest 2019 speakers get started in the main hall at 9:15 a.m. and will present on a wide range of topics throughout the day. Speakers include Olympic gold-medal figure skater Megan Duhamel, The Gentle Barn founder Ellie Laks, Rutgers University professor Gary Francione and others.

A number of workshops will be taking place in the RecPlex's multipurpose room, including sessions on vegan family nutrition, moving towards zero-waste living and the history of animal activism in Winnipeg. There will also be morning meditation and yoga sessions.

For those looking to nibble on something during the day, on-site food vendors serving up vegan fare will include a number of local eateries such as Wolseley/West End faves Decadence Chocolate and their new neighbours at Roughage Eatery, who recently set up shop at 126 Sherbrook St. and offer vegan twists on items such as cheese/charcuterie boards, spinach dip and spanakopita, among other tasty treats. There will also be a wide range of vendors selling products such as clothing, supplements, beauty products and accessories, as well as information booths on a wide range of veg-related topics.

The event field will also feature a number of workshops as well as performances and competitions taking place throughout the day, including the Festival du Fromageur, a judged competition between local contestants to see who can craft Winnipeg's best-tasting homemade vegan cheese. The kids area, meanwhile, features a day full of fun events and performances, including music from Tim Barlow, a reading by Sweet Grass Farm author Christine Krahn-Matias, face painting and more.

Admission to Winnipeg VegFest 2019 is free; VIP passes are available for $100 and include a complimentary swag bag, a signed copy of Ellie Laks' book My Gentle Barn and more, including a reserved seat in the front row for all of the day's speakers. (Alternately, $50 gets you a day-long saved spot without the swag.)

For more information or to purchase VIP passes visit Winnipegvegfest.ca.

— Ben MacPhee-Sigurdson

The Art of Psyclone Studio

Evan Quiring has moved to the top of the card.

The local artist and comic book illustrator is holding his first solo exhibition this month at Cre8ery, showing off a range of styles that includes everything from monsters to superheros to luchadores, mask-wearing Mexican wrestlers.

“I've always thought luchadores were visually interesting. Like the lucha movies, having them juxtaposed against a scary monster like a werewolf or vampire, or a flying saucer is just really fun to draw. Throw in some attractive ladies and some cool vintage cars and it just writes itself," he says.

His interest in comics started as a child when his mom purchased him Warlock No. 5, a reprint of Avengers Annuals from the 1970s where the superheroes teamed up with Spider-Man to fight Thanos. (Quiring took his mom to see the recent Avengers movie where the same plot unfolds.)

He started drawing as soon as he could hold a crayon, and considers his first published work to be 911: Emergency Relief, released by Alternative Comics in 2002.

Over the years he became a fan of classic monster movies and Mexican wrestling, eventually combining the two artforms into the comic series Luca Mystery, released by Sacramento, Calif.'s Scattered Comics.

So far there are three issues, and Quiring is currently working on the fourth.

“In the late ‘90s, I'd always be renting as many old monster movies as I could find, usually from Movie Village, and some of these movies were from Mexico. They had the famous luchadores, El Santo or Blue Demon in them, and they'd fight monsters or vampire chicks or whatever," he says.

“With Lucha Mystery, I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel, I'm just doing my take on this genre."

His solo exhibition at Cre8ery Gallery — The Art of Psyclone Studio — begins tonight, Sept. 19, with a free reception from 7 to 10 p.m. and will include an overview of his work, including canvas prints, comic book pages, comic book covers, event posters and pin-ups.

Some pieces will also be for sale.

Cre8ery Gallery and Studio is located at 125 Adelaide St. The exhibition will be on display until Oct. 1. Gallery hours are noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and noon to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.

— Rob Williams

Boy & Bear at the Garrick

Australian folk-rock five-piece Boy & Bear are back with their first new music since 2015's Limit of Love and an accompanying world tour which lands in Winnipeg Wednesday, Sept. 25, at the Garrick.

Boy & Bear, who played the Winnipeg Folk Festival in 2014, are expected to release their long-awaited fifth record, Suck on Light, just two days after appearing in Winnipeg. The band recorded in Nashville and corralled some notable names to help with the new record, including producer Collin Dupuis (Lana Del Ray, the Black Keys) and Grammy Award-winning mixer Tom Elmhirst, who has worked with the likes of Beck, Amy Winehouse and Arcade Fire.

During the band's absence, frontman Dave Hosking dealt with intense health issues which involved bacteria essentially poisoning his nervous system and requires faecal microbiota transplants — yes, poo transplants — to curb the symptoms. (Get the full story here: wfp.to/boyandbear).

Hosking's health still isn't perfect, but it's better, and the band has already seen success with their newest single, Hold Your Nerve.

Tickets are $29.50, available at Eventbrite.ca; fellow Aussie folk performer Stu Larsen will open the night.

— Erin Lebar

Come for the music and stay for the craic

Tune up your fiddle and head down to Crescent Fort Rouge United Church this Saturday for the Winnipeg Irish Festival. The event has been running for nearly three decades and is an annual celebration of traditional Irish music, arts and culture.

There is a slate of free family-friendly activities happening from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, including instrument demonstrations, hands-on music, dance, arts and crafts workshops and Irish jam sessions (don't forget to bring your own instrument).

The evening program kicks off at 7 p.m. with a variety concert featuring songs and stories by local groups Curragh, the Barefoot Ceili Band, Pluck and the Flatland Ceili Band. Tickets are $15 at the door and attendees aged 16 and under get in free.

At the event, the festival organizing committee will also be sharing information about its forthcoming School of Traditional Irish Music & Arts, which will offer all-ages musical instruction and is scheduled to open in October.

Visit irishfest.ca for details.

— Eva Wasney

Jason Allen at the Handsome Daughter

The Handsome Daughter has stand-up comedy every Thursday, and this week they have a special headliner in Hamilton's Jason Allen.

Allen is a rising star in the Canadian comedy scene, working with other comedians such as Tom Segura (who recently performed two sold out shows at Club Regent), Kevin Pollak, Jeremy Hotz and Brian Posehn. He was recently featured on CBC's comedy page and has earned spots at comedy festivals all over the country, including Just for Laughs 42 in Toronto.

Allen will be performing two shows tonight, Sept. 19, at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.; tickets are $15 and are available at Showpass.com.

Magic Bird Fried Chicken, the restaurant inside the Handsome Daughter, will also be pumping out crispy bites all night, so you can order food and take it into the show with you if you so choose.

— Erin Lebar

BABIES born by caesarean section may have abnormal immune systems and could be at greater risk of contracting bloodstream infections from hospital bugs, a study has suggested.

For decades, health experts have feared that C-sections prevent babies from picking up the protective bacteria that they should be exposed to in the birth canal.

Children born by caesarean are more likely to develop allergies, autism, ADHD, asthma, Type 1 diabetes and to be obese. Scientists suspected a misformed microbiome - the bugs in the gut - might be to blame.

Now a seven-year study by scientists from University College London (UCL), the University of Birmingham and the Wellcome Sanger Institute has found that C-section babies have a microbiome that is significantly different to babies born naturally. Although experts do not yet know the long-term health consequences, they believe natural birth is a "thermostatic" moment that primes the immune system. Without exposure to the mother's gut bacteria, the immune system may not develop normally.

C-section babies had more bacteria typically acquired in hospitals, which can lead to bloodstream infections.

Dr Nigel Field, a UCL clinical associate professor, said: "We found significant differences between babies born by caesarean and babies born vaginally. Babies are sterile when they are in the womb and the moment they are born is the moment when the immune system has a huge number of bacteria that it is presented with. The hypothesis is that the moment of birth might be a sort of thermostatic moment which sets the immune system for future life."

Britain has one of the highest C-section rates in Western Europe, with 26.2 per cent of babies delivered in this way, compared with 19.7 per cent in 2000. Nearly half are elective.

Scientists found the bacteria in naturally born babies came from the mother's gut, rather than the birth canal, suggesting exposure to microbes around the perineum is important. Differences in gut bacteria between vaginally born and caesareandelivered babies largely evened out by one year old.

Prof Peter Brocklehurst, the study's principal investigator, said: "We urgently need to follow up this study, looking at these babies as they grow to see if early differences in the microbiome lead to any health issues."

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said the findings should not deter women from having a caesarean birth.

Prof Andrew Shennan, a consultant obstetrician, said: "Caesarean delivery results in fewer bacteria in the baby's gut being like its mother's. This is not known to be harmful and mothers who need a caesarean should not be alarmed. The further effects of this in long-term health need to be evaluated."

The research was published in the journal Nature.

Cash incentives would see fewer babies bottle-fed and save NHS millions, controversial study claims

MOTHERS should be offered financial incentives to breastfeed their children, academics have suggested, after a scheme led to hundreds fewer babies being bottle-fed if women received shopping vouchers.

The controversial approach, which has cost taxpayers more than £460,000 to trial, gave women a £40 voucher if their baby was still receiving breastmilk at two days, 10 days, six weeks, three months and six months old.

The trial involved 5,398 mothers and their babies who were given vouchers, and a control group of 4,612 who were offered no incentive, on 46 maternity wards across the country.

Levels of breastfeeding among women given vouchers rose from 31.7 per cent to 37.9 per cent, the equivalent of around 10 extra babies breastfed per ward at six to eight weeks.

Each woman received a maximum of £200, but the overall cost for each extra baby breastfed was nearly £1,000, suggesting the scheme failed to work in at least four out of five cases.

The trial did not provide data on whether the incentives worked beyond eight weeks, even though women still received the vouchers, as the control group was not monitored beyond that.

However, researchers said the vouchers helped demonstrate the importance of breastfeeding. Co-author Dr Clare Relton, senior research fellow at the University of Sheffield, who carried out the study, said: "Offering vouchers helped communicate the value of breastfeeding. Mothers receiving the vouchers reported feeling valued for breastfeeding.

"The UK has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world. It is now time to compare different ways of using money to support and enable mothers to breastfeed."

Breast milk contains antibodies that help babies to fight off viruses and bacterial infections and help lower the risk of asthma and allergies. It also contains hormones that regulate energy balance, and affects gut bacteria.

But while 73 per cent of babies in Britain start off being breast-fed, just 45 per cent receive it after six weeks, and just 1 per cent are being given only breast milk at six months, which the World Health Organisation recommends.

Researchers also said the cost of a voucher would be offset by £17 million in savings to the health service by keeping infants healthier.

Research by Unicef suggests that if 75 per cent of babies were breastfed at discharge and 45 per cent at four months, there would be 3,285 fewer babies admitted to hospital with gastrointestinal infections and 5,916 fewer with lower respiratory tract infections. It estimates there would also be 21,045 fewer acute middle ear infections and 361 fewer cases of Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a disease that affects the intestines of premature babies.

"We've shown that financial incentive programmes such as this cannot only increase rates of breastfeeding, but also provide good value for money," said lead author, Dr Nana Anokye, director, Division of Health Sciences, at Brunel University.

The research was funded by Public Health England and the Medical Research Council and published in the BMJ's Archive of Disease in Childhood.

As chief of cardiology at the McGill University Health Centre, Dr. Nadia Giannetti is always thinking ahead.

While treating patients in need of transplants and overseeing specialized labs that unblock arteries with stents or tame irregular heartbeats with defibrillators, Giannetti also contemplates the next frontiers in cardiovascular medicine.

Right now, that includes seeking answers to why some people suffer heart attacks when they don't have any of the traditional risk factors, and why some people respond to treatment and others don't.

These questions will be explored during a 10-year study called the "Signature project," which will compile profiles of individuals, including information about their genetics, their microbiome and other biomarkers, like their heart rate during physical activity.

"So we'll be putting it all together with an MRI of their heart and the use of artificial intelligence to try to create patterns" Giannetti explained in an interview. "We have to really personalize our understanding of cardiovascular disease so we can deliver better care."

But none of this cutting-edge research would be possible without funding from the MUHC Foundation.

The Signature project will be underwritten by an $18-million donation from the Courtois Foundation announced Tuesday. One of the biggest gifts in the history of the MUHC, it's the bulk of $21 million already pledged to the Fix Broken Hearts campaign, which aims to raise $50 million.

Part of the money will purchase a cardiac MRI machine, set to be installed this weekend. The machine is both critical to the project and the recruitment of Dr. Matthias Friedrich to operate it. Giannetti describes him as "the world leader in cardiac imaging." "Dr. Friedrich is really pushing the envelope to do MRIs without any kind of IV put in, without any kind of infusion or dye ... to do a risk-free, radiation-free MRI," she said.

The ability to diagnose cardiovascular problems through non-invasive procedures is one example of how donations to the MUHC help patients and advance medicine.

As a tertiary and quaternary health facility, the MUHC treats the most complex cardiovascular cases from a broad swath of Quebec while also conducting research. But in a publicly funded health system - where a $44-billion budget in 2019 is stretched to every corner of the province - many of the latest therapies available and those the MUHC is pioneering are not covered by the government.

This is where the MUHC Foundation comes in, said its president, Julie Quenneville.

"The reason we're launching a $50-million campaign is that we know we can do so much more," she said. "What we want to do is invest in funding innovation, in funding recruitment, retention, and funding talent. And also funding equipment that is needed to bring people here ... equipment that is just coming onto the market that we know will make a difference and save lives."

Dennis Carranza might not be alive today if it wasn't for experimental treatment funded by the foundation.

Once an "active guy" who ran marathons and rode motorcycles, he was diagnosed with heart failure in his 30s.

In eight years of treatment - and 18 months of hospitalization by his calculation - Carranza experienced every part of the MUHC's cardiology department.

Eventually he needed a left-ventricle assistance device, or LVAD, which is essentially a mechanical heart. For three years, he lugged around a 15-pound machine while he awaited a transplant.

"It's so difficult to have an apparatus with you all the time. You can't get it wet. You can't pull the wires; it's like certain death," he recalled in an interview.

As a result, he became sedentary, causing his weight to balloon to 400 pounds. In the spring of 2018, he experienced a clot and had to be admitted until a new heart could be found. But in two months residing at the MUHC, he decided to start walking.

"I walked every foot of the grounds of the hospital. Even the vendors all knew me," Carranza said. "The nurses were all having a competition with their Fitbits and I was beating them all."

After losing 50 pounds, Carranza underwent a heart transplant on June 23, 2018. Now 43, he is working, working out, travelling and got his motorcycle licence again. He is also sharing his story in hopes of giving back.

The MUHC Foundation funded mechanical hearts, like the one that kept Carranza alive, for 10 years before the Quebec government started covering them, Giannetti said. "But we saved many lives in the meantime - countless lives - because of the foundation allowing us to put in these devices in patients."

Now there are big plans for the money raised by the Fix Broken Hearts campaign: new equipment for the electro-physiology lab, which deals with heart arrhythmias; a laser for the cath lab, which is a newer way to help unblock clogged arteries; and support for another expert recently recruited to break new ground in digital medicine.

Using smart watches, e-clothing or other wearable devices, his research will allow cardiologists to monitor patients'vital signs in real time instead of a few times a year at appointments.

"I think that's really going to be the future of health care," Giannetti said. "But you need an infrastructure in place to be able to receive all that information, a team to do that, to be able to analyze that."

While grateful for the $18-million commitment from the Courtois Foundation, Quenneville said no donation is too small.

"We have 500,000 patients who visit the Glen site alone every year; if everybody contributed $25, think of what we could do together." ahanes@postmedia.com